Akatsuki Halloween: We All Have Something We Fear
by Deadgirl55
Summary: "This was only supposed to be a harmless Genjutsu; a Halloween prank!" He panicked, looking at the blood dripping from his hand. "I wasn't supposed to be trapped in it too!" Tonight is all trick, no treat. Characters & world belong to their Creator: Masashi Kishimoto
1. Beginning

Much to their dismay, six members of the Akatsuki Organization begrudgingly filed out of Amegakure's persistent rainfall and into the tallest tower at the center of the Village. Tired and cold they walked silently, for the most part ignoring the existence of the other teams as each pair made their way toward the designated meeting room, feet padding against the metal flooring and water dropping down off of their star hats. The Fall season had taken over most of the land, a cold wind had begun to blow as the leaves changed colour and fell from their branches signifying the end of camping out on the road. If it were still summer they might not have minded the travels so much but with the chill in the air, this rain was sure to make them sick.

Their Leader, Pein, had decided that they would all meet personally to discuss the next phase of their Mission Agenda and ordered them all to arrive by this date. In reality, it was really Tobi, or Obito, who had called for this face-to-face meeting, having something entirely special planned for the gathering. He had used his false identity as Madara to ensure he got what he wanted, claiming that he, Madara, personally wanted to meet each member before they began collecting the Jinchuriki. Pein, though slightly confused, had agreed to this risky meet and greet, acknowledging that assessing the group as a whole was indeed necessary.

That discussion had been a week ago and it was now October 31st. The moon, though obscured by storm clouds, hung full in the night sky and lanterns lit the entranceway to Pein's tower, courtesy of Tobi. The atmosphere of the tower itself was sinister; lightning flashing and illuminating the dark corridors made of metal sheeting and piping, for just a moment while the thunder which would follow boomed through the halls, echoing in a hazardous way against the steel and iron. The wind whistled through the creaking pipes which created a haunting melody of ghostly cries as the rain dripped to the floor with a hollow reverberating splash against thin puddles.

Obito could not have asked for a better location than this on the night of Halloween.

At this moment Konan stood at the very back of the meeting room while she waited for the members to arrive, face expressionless and demeanour calm. Pein was yet to have come down from his spot atop the tower as he made sure that only the Akatsuki had entered the Hidden Rain Village and only the Akatsuki had arrived at his doorstep. Konan had been sent down to greet the men while Pein finished his survey of their peaceful Village, as an acting God should.

Konan trusted Pein, Nagato, but she had her reserves about Madara and still could not figure out what could be so important that they all had to meet in person. Yes, he had told them he wished to meet everyone face-to-face but Konan believed he could have done that at any time he so chose. To her, this was all too great a risk and threatened the peace Nagato had finally brought to this Village. Her opinion on the situation did not matter much when it came to Madara though. He had insisted, speaking mostly to Nagato at their last meeting, that it was to be done, before he turned back into his hyperactive Tobi personality, running off to find Zetsu and have him relay the message to the teams.

"Oh, Mr. Zetsu! Mr. Zetsu, look! They're all here!" Tobi screeched as he tugged on Zetsu's cloak, pointing towards the stairs of which the six members had just climbed to the top of.

 **"We see that you idiot!"** Kuro Zetsu scorned as he tore his arm out of Tobi's grasp. Shiro Zetsu chuckled and patted Tobi on the head.

 _"He's just excited, that's all. I am too, actually."_ Kuro scoffed at his other side and tried to turn away but Shiro wasn't having it, taking control this time. He really was excited to see everyone in a single place for the first time, though he was admittedly a little concerned considering the members track record when coming into contact with one another for too long.

"Mr. Zetsu, let's go say hi to everyone!" Tobi prodded as he raced off to greet the others. At his point in time, "Tobi" had yet to meet many of the members face-to-face so asking him to take it down a notch was asking the impossible. Obito knew some of the members since he was the one, as Madara, that recruited them but at this moment he was neither Madara nor Obito. It was time to officially introduce Tobi to the rest of the Akatsuki.

"Who the hell is that?" One of the members groaned as the orange masked man came bounding up to them.

"My name is Tobi! Tobi is very happy to meet you all!" Tobi grabbed Deidara's hand and began to shake it enthusiastically, causing the blond-haired Explosion Artist to unwillingly be jiggled up and down.

"Let go of me! Hm!" Deidara complained as he pulled on his hand, the tongue of his palm-mouth attempting to lubricate his escape. "I will turn you into Art if you don't stop touching me! Hm!" He yelled, finally ripping his hand free.

Hidan started laughing in the background as the other members either smirked or stared blankly at the scene. "Hey Blondie, I think someone actually wants to be your fucking friend!" Hidan bent over some as he laughed even harder at the first bit of amusement he's had in days. Deidara's eyebrow began twitching as he glared at the silver-haired man.

"Just shut up, Hidan! You're so annoying! Hm!" Deidara yelled. "You're the one no one wants to be friends with! Hm!"

Hidan immediately stopped laughing and his expression turned dark. "The fuck you say, bitch?"

Sasori sighed at the events around him as Deidara and Hidan now yelled insults at each other. He began walking away but not before Tobi had lunged forward, grabbing his hand and shaking it as well. "That's enough you brat!" Sasori hissed as he brought Hiruko's scorpion-like tail down to strike, missing Tobi by mere inches as he ducked back away in fear, turning his attention back towards the two screaming younger members as their voices rose in pitch and volume. Once Sasori was certain the hyperactive brat wasn't going to come near him again he continued on his way.

Kakuzu groaned, irritated at the noise his immature partner was making and scorned him for it, threatening to kill him if he didn't shut up. Noticing how Kakuzu had his attention on Hidan, Tobi decided to run up to the Jashinist next, grasping his hand and shaking it just as warmly as he had done with Deidara. The young Artist snickered before turning, nose in the air, and walking after his partner, seemingly satisfied at the turn of events.

Hidan froze for a moment in shock at what was happening. He, the ever-loyal Disciple of Lord Jashin, was being touched by this Heathen? That would not do. His face soon contorted violently as his arm was thrust up and down in the greeting. "Let the fuck go of me you little bitch!" He screeched, reaching up for his scythe and aiming to kill the Defiler.

Tobi yelped and dodged the attack as Hidan's tri-bladed scythe dug into the metal floor. It hit with such force that the impact sounded like an explosion, catching the attention of Deidara yet again. Stopping to see what was happening the Bomber could only laugh at what Hidan had done.

While Hidan cursed Tobi and Deidara's names, trying desperately to pull his weapon back out, Tobi made his way towards where Itachi and Kisame had been standing, though only the tall blue man still remained there. Kisame slightly intimidated Tobi so instead of going directly for him he turned to find the other two he had yet to greet. This action made the ex Mist Shinobi frown a moment before his grin broke out across his face even wider; after all, he now put effort into intimidating others so why continue to feel down about it?

Kakuzu and Itachi had been following Sasori's lead, making their way to the meeting room like they were supposed to, though they hadn't gotten far, just a few more steps past where Deidara had stopped. Tobi raced around them a few times, halting their movement, before reaching for Kakuzu's hand. The masked man just pulled his limb away and growled darkly to which Tobi squeaked. Looking into Kakuzu's cold eyes sent foreboding shivers down the smaller man's spine and so he backed away, spinning to grasp Itachi's hand instead. Itachi just glared, activating his Sharingan which only caused Tobi to panic further before getting as far away from the two as he could. 'Oh wow, these guys are pretty scary!' He thought, still keeping to his Tobi persona.

"Is that brat seriously a member?" Kakuzu muttered as he watched Tobi run toward Deidara and Hidan, circling the two who were yelling at each other yet again, wanting to catch their attention before they really tried to hurt one another. Deidara would most likely win being a long-ranged fighter, using his explosives to keep Hidan at bay who, as his scythe was still wedged in the floor, would have to use his fists.

 _"Not exactly,"_ Shiro replied as he watched Tobi with delight.

 **"He's more of an errand boy at this moment,"** Kuro added. **"Though should something happen to one of you he will most likely be made an official member."**

"Then for his sake, let's hope it doesn't come down to that." Kakuzu glared one last time at Tobi before he turned back around, walking away. "Hidan, stop messing around." He called over his shoulder as he made his way through the door to the meeting room. Hidan paused in his next strike, using only the cable of his scythe to attack, an annoyed look taking over before he began to curse.

With the sudden interruption from Kakuzu Hidan was now thinking a little more straight, easily pulling his weapon from its embedded spot in the floor with a well-calculated yank. Though he wished dearly to paint the room red in blood, sacrificing the annoyances to his Lord Jashin, he followed Kakuzu's order nonetheless. He would send offerings to his Lord when this damn meeting was finally over.

"Why me?! Go over there! Hm!" Deidara yelled as Tobi went to attack him in a hug, pointing towards Kisame who Tobi had yet to greet. Kisame, who had been watching the scene in great amusement this whole time, chuckled as the smaller man instantly ran over to him, stopping timidly as he looked up at how tall the shark-like man truly is.

Smirking downward, Kisame extended his hand to which Tobi, with a delighted gasp, grasped. He tried to shake the well-built blue arm just as energetically as with the other members but Kisame was too strong and dominated the handshake, keeping it at a steady pace before his grip tightened and his smirk turned predatory. "Do try not to get yourself killed." He warned playfully before releasing his grip and walking away.

Tobi just stood there as he watched all the members disappear into the meeting room. "Mr. Zetsu, Tobi doesn't think the others like him so much..." The swirly mask turned to look at Zetsu, his shoulders slumped.

 **"Of course not! You're annoying!"** Kuro scorned as Shiro placed his hand on Tobi's shoulder.

 _"Don't worry Tobi. I still think you're a good boy."_ Tobi perked up at this and threw his hands into the air.

"Yay! Let's go join the meeting now!" With that, Tobi bolted toward the door while Zetsu followed calmly behind.

In the meeting room, everyone had spread themselves out in a giant circle. A good distance was placed between each member, most likely so there would be no touching. Konan had realized that you needed to treat these dangerous men as if they were a bunch of small children at a daycare so she had the Kanji from their rings scored onto the floor, designating where they should stand. She watched each of the men as they glared around the room or stared in boredom and irritation at the door where Pein was to be emerging from.

Finally, Pein arrived. He took his place next to Konan, Zetsu and Tobi sharing a space to his other side, and cleared his throat to silence his followers. "If everyone is quite finished with making a scene we will begin."

As Pein spoke these words and Tobi snickered one last time the dull electrical lights went out and a flash of lightning lit the darkened room, for a mere split second blinding everyone.

Then there was silence as darkness engulfed the surroundings.

 _{**A/N: The next chapter will be posted Oct. 24, 2018, followed by a chapter a day until Halloween and then Nov. 01 will have the wrap-up chapter._

 _I love your feedback!_

 _Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}_

 _[Posted: Oct. 01, 2018]-[2,162 wordcount]_


	2. Ch1 PeinNagato

Pein stood from the ground where he had found himself to be laying. Brushing off his cloak he looked around at the now empty meeting room; not even Konan or Madara in sight. "Konan." He called out as his Rinnegan eyes scanned the large empty room, taking a moment extra as they passed through the shadowed corners and around the larger piping. He did not sense Konan's Chakra, nor that of any of the other members and it was concerning to him.

Moving his feet calmly across the metal flooring despite the strange situation and making his way toward the open doorway of which the stairs to his office lead, Pein, or rather Nagato who controlled Pein's body, began to silently investigate Amegakure's surrounding. Not only did he attempt to find the others in the Tower through Pein by using him as a sensory point and by physically looking around for clues, but he also planned on searching outside the Tower by awakening the remainder of his Six Paths.

As he did this, sending the now awoken remaining five Paths outside into the rain, Pein continued to climb the stairs and make his way through his office, entering one of the secret doors and climbing even more until the Deva Path reached Nagato's room. Nowhere along the way had he managed to sense the Chakra of any of the others nor was he able to find any clues as to what had happened to them. He stopped Pein momentarily as he tried to grasp the situation, letting out a concerned breath as he stared at the body of Yahiko.

"Yahiko, I don't know what's going on. I don't know how this happened and I can't seem to sense where Konan is. I'm worried about her." He confessed aloud to the walking corpse of his dead best friend. "I know she can take care of herself, but this whole situation makes me extremely uneasy. I don't understand how this happened; no one should have been able to get anywhere near this tower." He spoke in a low tone as his eyes trailed to the floor in concentration, focusing on his other Paths as he pushed them further from the tower.

Perhaps this isn't even real though?" He mused, having Pein perform the Hand Seal, Ram, to create a Chakra Surge in order to disrupt a Genjutsu. 'Did Madara have something to do with this?' He pondered as Pein activated the Jutsu. When nothing happened Nagato narrowed his eyes, thinking harder. "So, it's not a Genjutsu then." Making note of this he focused his full attention back on his five Paths which were now almost out of the Village.

"What?!" He exclaimed, eyes widening and his head shooting up as he felt, one by one, the control of his Six Paths being severed. Each Path had made it to the borders of the Rain Village by this point, stopping to examine the area and search for any Chakra Signals. Having not found anything yet they had been instructed to go further but before they could step outside of Amegakure's limits they fell limp, dropping to the soaking ground beneath.

With the flow of Chakra suddenly cut the orange hair of each Path changed back into their original colouring and the bodies began to quickly decay, rotting and bloating under the heavy rain. What bodily fluids they still had now released, draining out across the ground as the Metal Chakra Rods used to control them slipped out of their slimy flesh. Nagato was spared the visual of such a scene however he did feel as though a piece of himself had been harshly cut away the moment his vision from each body had been severed. With this new hollow feeling and the dread of what would happen if he should lose control of the last Path, Nagato started to feel even more vulnerable and alone than he just was.

Staring in fear at the remaining Path, Pein, Nagato moved him around the room some and even performed a simple Jutsu as he watched himself through Peins eyes. His control over Pein was still intact, though he could feel even this control slowly slipping away. After a moment of debate, Nagato realized that he had no choice in the matter.

At the risk of losing full control over Pein's body, he sent the Path to one of the large windows, having him jump onto a ledge and look out across his home. As he did that he also tried to telepathically communicate with Konan and Madara through Chakra Thought Waves, even trying to summon a response from Zetsu or his clones, all of which still did not work. 'What could be blocking me?' He questioned as he focused on his Deva Path.

Pein outstretched his arms and felt the rain pelt his open palms as he looked up toward the threatening sky, lightning dancing across the airway followed by a clap of thunder. Through the rain, there were absolutely no disturbances in the Village that Nagato could detect. All was calm, too calm even. Not only were there no intruders or any sign of the Akatsuki but the Villagers were also seemingly missing. No one was outside, including the guards at the Village gates. 'This isn't right.'

Nagato began to breathe heavily as Pein lowered his arms, both bodies trembling. Straining to even keep the Path standing he decided to bring his friend's corpse back in, though his grip was dissipating rather fast and he wasn't sure if he would have the strength to summon Pein back into the room before he lost all control. Almost as if taunting that fear, Pein stumbled for a moment before regaining his balance, and for a second Nagato believed he would be able to bring Yahiko's body back inside safely but just as he was turning around Pein's vision cut out. Though Nagato could not see this he knew that Yahiko's body had now fallen off the ledge and was plummeting toward the concrete ground at the base of the Tower, possibly hitting other ledges and piping in the process. Nagato shut his eyes tight at the image of Yahiko being broken and shredded before his lifeless corpse splattered on the ground.

With sadness Nagato opened his eyes back up, his expression solemn. "What is happening?" He asked aloud to himself, shakily pulling his frail hands up to his face to view. "I cannot do much but I have to try and find Konan." Putting his hands back in their place he began to move his giant mechanical walker toward his door. He had not been outside the Tower in years due to his frailty and rarely left his room without Konan. Pein had become the vessel to not only fulfill the Akatsuki dream but also to give Nagato the chance to travel and protect that which was precious to him. Konan and his Village.

Finding that not only had controlling Pein become a strain on his Chakra usage but so did controlling the movement of his walker. After only making it halfway to his door the redhead was heaving heavily, gasping for air and trembling with fatigue. 'What a joke I have become.' He thought bitterly as he struggled with each step across the room. It was apparent that with the shape he was in he would not last very long alone. He needed Konan, he needed Pein, Yahiko. He needed help from someone.

When he finally reached the door Nagato let his head drop and he closed his eyes for a moment as he tried to catch his breath, sweat dripping down his forehead as a coughing fit overtook him. None of this made any sense to him, how he was losing energy and Chakra so suddenly and how he had been unable to contact anyone or sense their presence. What made even less sense though was when he opened his eyes again. Instead of staring out the doorway he had just arrived at his walker was now back on the other side of the room where he started from.

Somewhat startled, Nagato began to look around only to be blinded by a bright flash of lightning before he had the chance to analyze anything. Upon regaining his sight he now faced something he had never imagined he would encounter. Yahiko's body stood in front of him, blood running down his disfigured, tilted face, bones sticking out through his flesh and clothing and the cloak tattered to no end from the fall he had just taken. Pein stood slumped, staring intensely at the redhead.

Nagato gasped, flinching backward at the sight. "What, but how?" He questioned as Pein started walking forward without the Rinnegan user controlling him. "If this isn't a Genjutsu then how could this be happening?"

"Nagato, where is Konan?" Pein asked, blood dripping onto the floor as he walked, or rather limped, forward. His organs and intestines hang out of a large gash in his side, a batch dropping to the floor with a sickening, wet smack. "You were supposed to take care of her. You were supposed to bring true peace to this world." Yahiko's broken, blood gurgling voice continued. "What have you done?"

Nagato could not believe his eyes. It was like a nightmare had come crawling out of his mind, letting itself play out right in front of him. 'No, no this can't be real. This isn't real!' He screamed at himself, eyes widening in fear as Pein continued to approach, the squishing, crunching sound of broken bones and bleeding flesh coupled with the sick coppery smell of blood infiltrating his senses more and more. 'This has to be a lie, this has to be a trick!' Just then a scream pierced through the noise of the rainstorm, shattering Nagato's thought process, lightning and thunder following shortly after.

"Do you hear her?" Pein asked, some of his piercings dropping to the floor from the movement. "Konan is in trouble and you aren't there for her!" Yahiko's deep voice yelled, raising his arm to point crookedly out the window. "You are failing her! You are failing me!" He yelled as another blood-curdling scream ripped through the air, this one sounding more desperate than the last. "You cannot save her Nagato! What have you done?!" Yahiko screamed as he grasped Nagato's shoulder, making him bend down from his place high in his mechanical walker. The blood that had been pouring out of his hands ran down Nagato's body, bone scraping against his skin, cutting it as Yahiko began to violently shake him. "I told you not to use this power and now you cannot be there for Konan when she needs you!" The vibrations of the shaking caused some of Yahiko's head to fall to the floor, bits of hair, bone and brain raining down.

"Yahiko, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Nagato shouted over another desperate scream, though this one was cut short making Nagato's eyes dart toward the open window in fear. An eerie silence soon followed as lightning lit up the sky yet again.

Yahiko stared at Nagato, his broken Rinnegan eyes, one smashed, staring into Nagato's perfectly kept ones. "Where is the peace we strived so hard for?" Yahiko began to gurgle even more from the rising blood that had been pooling in his lungs. A coughing fit erupting sending blood splattering all over Nagato's face as Yahiko began stumbling backward toward the open window, eye full of hate trained on Nagato's.

"Yahiko!" Nagato yelled as the corpse tumbled out of the window. "Yahiko!" Nothing could be done so Nagato cried silently in wait before he heard the echoing sound of a broken body making an impact with the concrete ground. "Yahiko, Konan, where did I go so wrong?" He wept.

His cries soon changed from quiet sobbing to agonizing screams as he felt his legs begin to burn and a sudden rush of pain shock him. He could not see the fire but he felt the heat eating away at his legs, as though they had once more been covered in Paper Bombs. "AH!" He yelled as he tried to remove himself from his walker. "Stop this! Whoever you are, stop!" He wailed as his form released from the mechanical contraption and he fell to the hard, metal ground. "Please!" He begged as he watched his legs engulf in flames, the fire licking at his unscathed areas before creeping up toward his torso, smoke thick and black. "This isn't real!" He shouted, closing his eyes tight as pain ripped through his body, his breath getting harder to catch and his senses failing. "Konan, Yahiko... I'm so sorry..." He breathed as the Tower began to rust and crumble around him. His torso had quickly become engulfed in flames before he even had the chance to weave any Hand Seals that might have saved him.

All he could smell was burning flesh and boiling blood as his world went dark.

{**A/N: This is my first time trying to really get descriptive and try to show and tell horror. Also, trying to figure out what Nagato is afraid of was a little challenging, but then I remembered that losing Yahiko and Konan were what scared him into unintentionally using his Rinnegan as a child so I went with that.

What do you think? Was Yahiko disturbing and scary enough?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 24, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,170]


	3. Ch2 Konan

Konan stirred from her slumbering spot on the cold metal floor, shoulder and head throbbing from the impact of her fall. She blinked harshly and held her head as she sat up. "What, Pein, what happened? Is everyone else alright?" She asked before looking around, only to realize then that she was alone.

In confusion she stood, steadying herself against the dark and grimy metal walls of the meeting room. Though it wasn't the time for it she made a small mental note to have the inside of the Tower cleaned as she looked at the residue now stuck to her hand. This was no place for a God of a new world to reside.

After she straightened herself out she began to walk towards the door leading to Pein office. As she pushed futilely against the heavy metal her confusion grew. She could have sworn this door had been left open when Pein had entered the meeting room yet here it was, closed and refusing to budge. There was no other way into Pein's area from down on this level, not unless you wanted to risk jumping up the side of the metal Tower in the pouring rain during a lightning storm. Deciding that she would check outside in the streets first before risking the climb to the top, Konan turned back around and headed for the only open door.

Hand trailing the railing as she made her way down the stairs, Konan soon found herself at the base of the Tower. She walked through the large open rooms as the dull light of the storm flashed bright and flickered back down with the lightning before the echo of thunder rolled through. This was normal for her so the strobe lighting and noise did not affect her as it would have for someone who did not grow up in this land. The rain was heavier than usual but she put it off as being caused by the approaching cold season.

Passing by a door which contained the stairs leading to the basement morgue, Konan stopped for a moment to listen to something odd. There was the sound of light rustling and strange scratching noises coming from behind the door before a quiet tapping, almost like knocking, began.

Konan narrowed her eyes and readied her Jutsu's as she swiftly opened the door wide, amber eyes staring down into the darkness. The sound had stopped and she did not sense anything but if there were intruders or snooping members they had to be dealt with. Her will to keep Amegakure in a state of peace was far greater than her fear of the unknown before her so she kept her guard up and began her decent.

Flicking on the light switch she watched as the electrical lighting grew, warming up from a low orange to a blinding white before flashing like the lightning outside, blowing each bulb. A sharp bang sounded down the stairway, returning the steep incline into darkness before a lighter sound, the tinkling of glass hitting the metal stairs, filled the space before her. Even though the Tower had many problems, including electrical, they have never had a shortage bad enough to cause the lights to explode.

'Maybe I should send a Clone first? This way if there's someone down there and they attack they'll only be revealing themselves giving me time to counterstrike.' She reasoned as her descent continued, slowing until she stopped just halfway down.

Before she could make up her mind though she heard the rustling again; scratching and grunting from below coming closer. Soon the glass was being stepped on, crunching underfoot of whoever was approaching in the dark. Konan began backing up, trying to bring whoever, whatever, into the small amount of light of the stair doorway. Ten steps away, that's all she had left when a decaying face came into view, skin a sickening, rotting yellow-grey, hands reaching out and teeth gnashing wildly within the black putrid mouth. Wailing came from farther down the stairs as more arms began to appear in the dimness, reaching outward to grasp what was in front of them.

Turning in fear to retreat from whatever was trying to seize her, Konan began running up the stairs only to have the heavy door slam shut in her face. "No!" She screamed, beginning to bang on the metal as she felt something tug against her cloak. "No, open the door!" Turning back around Konan prepared her Paper Shuriken and threw dozens of them down the stairs, the yelping and gurgling of whatever was reaching out to her filling her ears.

Breathing heavily, back against the door and eyes staring into black, her calm demeanour had melted away leaving only fear and desperation as she continued to swing her fist backward into metal. Listening to the creatures trudging back up the stairs a panic began to set in. As she readied another Jutsu the door suddenly swung open letting Konan fall back onto the cold ground. She scrambled to get up, slipping in the thin puddles of water underneath while watching as decaying bodies climbed up the stairs, grabbing at anything they could, crawling over each other with a sickening sound.

Konan shuffled backwards on her hands and elbows, pulling herself away from the stairs as the dead grabbed at her cloak. In a frenzy, she undid the clasps and slipped out of the thing, quickly rolling over to push herself up onto her feet and make a dash for outside. She could still hear the gurgling moans of the creatures trying to pursue her.

It was raining heavily now, more so than usual, with thunder rattling the very earth and lightning tearing through the sky like it was out for revenge. Konan stumbled through the empty streets in search of anyone, hoping to run into the other members or Pein, especially Pein. She wasn't sure what was happening but it was not good, that was for sure. She knew she couldn't handle this on her own; she needed help.

The streets were unusually empty as she ran through the rain. Her whole being was now drenched as she rounded a corner and stepped out into the main district of Amegakure. Wiping water from her face Konan looked around expecting to see people going about their usual business, though to her horror what she saw only increased the fear bubbling inside. She hadn't been paying attention to her surrounding as she ran, only looking for Pein and the other Akatsuki members. Even running into Tobi, Madara, would have been a huge relief. In this state of mind, Konan didn't realize how extra quiet the Village had become.

Dropping to her knees, slapping her hands over her mouth, wide-eyed as acid began to make its ascension in her throat, Konan stared at what was in front of her. Bodies of the innocent lay scattered about, blood still pooling from their broken and mangled forms, eyes wide and blank, mouths agape in silent screams but as much as the horror of what the adults faced, the children were far worse off.

At first glance, Konan had thought that maybe, just maybe the children had managed to escape. They would become orphans and that tore at her heart but at the sight before her, she would rather that they grow up without families instead of suffering through whatever their parents had.

The adults were slashed and stabbed without mercy and all manner of defensive wounds riddle their bodies but the children, there should have been no need for the form of violence they were subjugated to. Even from this distance, Konan could see how the tiny bodies of the children had been mangled; broken in ways so that their bones ripped through their flesh and body parts hung limply or unnaturally twisted around.

Head to toe they had gashes in their flesh, Kunai and Shuriken, as well as many other Ninja Tools, protruding. Many of them their eyes were opened wider than the adults, all their mouths hung limp, hanging by the muscles of the jaw. The children were burnt and bludgeoned, a large pool of blood underneath the pile of bodies where the enemy had tossed them. The smell was sickening as black smoke billowed upward from the burning flesh.

Konan screamed; the fear and panic that had been threatening to spill out now releasing. Her scream lasted moments before she lurched forwards and vomited on the street. Her breath came ragged and tears ran down her face. "Why?" She wheezed as she stared at the running water beneath her. "WHY?!" She screamed.

"Konan." Came a voice; a familiar voice.

"Pein!" Konan cried as she shot her head up and looked around but instead of finding Pein with a look of concern on his face and an outstretched hand she found only more horror. Pein's body was even more mangled than the children's. His head had caved in and sat crooked on a broken neck, one eye squished while the other bulged slightly. Blood ran down his face from his head wound; out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth and across his tattered cloak. His body did not stand straight but instead was crumpled and warped, bones sticking outward and internal organs hanging from his torso as though he had fallen from a great height. He did not look concerned but rather disappointed, angry even.

"Konan." He repeated, yet this time his voice too was changed. Instead of the deep monotone that she had come to love back when Yahiko was alive, it was a gargling mess, more blood spilling from the mouth as he talked. "What did you let happen?" He continued, but he didn't merely gesture at the scene surrounding them. Konan looked down and screamed, throwing herself from her hands and knees onto her back, leaning on one elbow as she held the other arm defensively out in front. As she stared in horror at what lay before her Konan could only open and close her mouth in shock. "I told you to look after him, Konan!" The corpse of Yahiko yelled, blood spewing outward.

Konan now realized that it was not the Deva Path, Pein, who was speaking to her but rather Yahiko back from the grave. 'How- how did his body become so mangled?' She questioned herself before attempting to speak. "Yahiko, is that you?" Yahiko's eyes narrowed as his broken and bent arm pointed down at Nagato's dead body.

"Do you care nothing for him?!" He yelled, blood splattering across Nagato's body and hers. "You promised you would look after each other, that you would take care of Nagato and not allow him to use that Jutsu! Look what you let happen!" His voice was cracking and more blood was spilling out by just breathing.

"Yahiko, no! I didn't- I didn't mean-" Konan, still in shock, was finding it hard to speak to the dead body of her best friend, of the man she had always held affection for.

"Where is the peace?!" Konan's eyes flew wide as the hands of the dead which she had thought she escaped grabbed her limbs and held her down. Yahiko took a Kunai out of a nearby body and then limped forward, blood trailing as his broken feet squished and cracked against the ground before finally letting himself fall toward her, poised to kill.

"Yahiko! NO!" With one last scream, one that was cut short, Konan's vision turned red with sudden, burning pain. Then all was black and numb.

{**A/N: I added Zombies!

So, the second Chapter is now posted. Your thoughts?

Do you think I convoyed Konan's fear well enough? Did the description of mutilated bodies make you cringe? Good or bad cringe?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~

Love, DG~**}

[Posted: Oct. 25, 2018]-[Wordcount: 1,932]


	4. Ch3 Itachi

In the midst of a coughing fit Itachi awoke; bolting up he activated his Sharingan the moment he realized he had been knocked unconscious. Confused and on alert he looked around the empty room, expecting to find all the other members knocked out as well. To his surprise, there was no one in sight, not even a trace of them. Slowly he stood and surveyed the room, his Sharingan scanning all the dark corners.

"Leader, Kisame?" He called out before taking a step toward the open door on his right after lightning flashing through it had caught his eye. 'This is rather strange.' He thought as he tilted his head to look around as thunder rolled through the metal room. 'I don't remember what knocked me out, and were the others affected, I wonder.' Noticing nothing out of the ordinary, no Kunai, Shuriken, Jutsu blast marks or stray evidence that any sort of scuffle had happened, he deactivated his Sharingan. 'Where did everyone go?' He pondered, beginning to move toward the open doorway before stopping. "Who's there?" Itachi called out as he saw a small shadow run down the hallway past the open door.

Pulling his Kunai out and reactivating his Sharingan, Itachi began making his way down the long, metal hall; thin sheets of water brought in by the open window and leaky pipes splashing underneath. As he walked onward, catching glimpses of the shadow, he began to notice the walls were slowly changing in colour.

At first, Itachi barely took notice, the gleaming steel of the walls turning dark and dirty, like iron oxidizing for too long, until it began to change to a darker red and pool onto the floor. Itachi scanned the walls, watching the darker red substance stretch down from the ceiling to the ground until he heard more of a slosh than a splash under his feet. Eyes moving downward he noticed the same red substance pooled around his feet had begun to rise. His toes now felt sticky, drenched in the red liquid.

The smell of dirty iron filled his nostrils. In shock Itachi backed up, looking around with all senses heightened as he realized that what he was walking through wasn't water which had seeped into the tower from the rainstorm outside but rather blood. That meant the substance running down the walls had to be blood as well.

'This is not real. There's too much blood for no reason. I must be under a Genjutsu.' Itachi reasoned as he began hearing laughter down the hallway; familiar laughter of a little boy. 'Sasuke?'

Against his better judgement, Itachi kept moving forward instead of trying to release himself of the illusion. He followed the sound of laughter as it began to degrade to hiccupping and eventually crying, the voice of Sasuke sounding just as heartbroken as when Itachi had to leave him amidst his dead clan. Rounding a final corner, the blood now risen past his ankles, Itachi came to find his little brother sitting alone in the middle of a large, empty room, hands over his eyes as he wept.

"Sasuke?" Itachi called out skeptically. "Sasuke, what are you doing here?"

Sasuke stopped crying promptly but did not look up. "Why Itachi, why did you do it?" He sniffed. Itachi stiffened at hearing his younger brothers broken voice. "Why did you kill mother and father?"

"I don't have time for this." Itachi decided, closing his eyes to the scene of his little brother sitting in blood. 'I have to release the Genjutsu so I can find out what happened. I need to see if the others are trapped as well.' Slapping his hands together in the Hand Seal for Ram, forcefully, Itachi attempted to break the Genjutsu. "Release!"

Nothing happened except that Sasuke began crying once again. "Itachi!~" He wailed.

'Well, that didn't do it.' Itachi thought in annoyance. 'Perhaps my Sharingan will be able to break this.' Looking around more carefully at his surroundings Itachi tried to find the imperfections that Genjutsu's often cannot hide from such eyes as his. 'If I can find the proof that this is a Genjutsu it will be all the easier to break free of it.' He reasoned as his eyes trailed up and down the walls, across the ceiling, studying the piping and the reflections in the blood.

Finally, he made his way towards the illusion of his crying brother. "Sasuke, look at me." He demanded but the boy continued to cry, eyes buried in his hands. "Sasuke, look at me."

"Why, why Itachi? Why did you kill them?" He cried even harder, his head ducking down as he bent forward.

'Well, this is rather irritating.' Itachi grumbled as he watched Sauske bend over and weep, repeating the same thing over and over. 'Perhaps the rest of the Genjutsu is so flawless because the caster had time to work on everything else, believing that I wouldn't approach the illusion of my younger brother. It's rather impressive.' He mused.

"Why?!" Sasuke's questioning was beginning to get rather repetitive at this point, though it was hard to miss the steady increase in volume and aggression in which the questions were being spoken. "Why Itachi?!"

"That's enough. You're nothing but an illusion." He huffed, "But let's see what will happen if I tell you what you want to know." Itachi sneered at the young boy whos tears continued to spill into the blood.

"I have acted like the older brother you desired for one reason: because I wanted to discover how powerful you were. I needed to find a worthy opponent to test the limits of my own abilities. You have that unique potential. Now I've made you hate me, now you have the desire to defeat me, which is exactly why I'm going to allow you to live. Don't you see? It's all for my own benefit.

"Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me one day in hate and revenge, surviving in such an unsightly manner as this, by all means, flee, cling to your wretched life and then one day when you possess the same eyes, come back and face me," Itachi spoke once more the same monologue he had given Sasuke the night of their clans slaughter, knowing that even if it was an illusion Sasuke would react in the same way he had back then; he would try and kill Itachi. This ultimately would allow Itachi to see the face this illusion was trying to hide.

Blood began to drip from the ceiling now, the level on the ground which had risen to Itachi's calf began to quicken its ascension. Feeling a new presence in the room Itachi looked up from the now screaming Sasuke, expecting to see exactly who was now standing there.

Shisui Uchiha stood near the back wall, eyeless sockets dripping blood like waterfalls. "Itachi, why did you kill them?" He asked. Itachi scoffed and shook his head, wanting to just end this illusion already. "I wanted you to protect the Leaf Village and the Uchiha's honour. Killing our Clan left no honour when the only survivors are you, the murderer, and a hate-filled Sasuke who is ready to give his body to Orochimaru just so he can kill you." Itachi glared at the illusion of his best friend.

"The real Shisui is dead and therefore would not know that, but as this is only a Genjutsu whatever is already in my mind can be manipulated at will. This is more annoying than anything but I swear I will track down whoever has placed me under this and have a good word with them." Itachi spoke out loud as Shisui began walking closer, legs splashing through the knee-high blood.

"This isn't a Genjutsu, Itachi," Shisui spoke as a distant scream echoed into the Tower room. "If it were, you would have broken free of it by now, wouldn't you?" Itachi closed his eyes for a moment, his activated Sharingan starting to take its toll as a migraine began to throb across his head. "Sasuke has been quiet for some time, hasn't he?" Shisui spoke from Itachi's side.

'When did he get there?' Itachi thought in mild shock. Splashing was still heard from in front of himself so he had assumed the Shisui illusion was still treading through the blood.

"Itachi, look." Shisui pointed down at Sasuke who had his face and most of his head under the rising blood. Itachi watched as air bubbles made their way to the surface. "Sasuke is drowning in all the blood you spilt."

"That is not Sasuke." Itachi corrected. "However, I do need to view his face and then I'll finally be able to break this Genjutsu." Itachi reached down and grasped the back of Sasuke's head.

"I already told you Itachi, this is not a Genjutsu." Shisui began walking away and Itachi clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth in annoyance. "Itachi, my best friend, they're coming for you." With that as a warning, dozens of arms burst from the now waist deep blood as Itachi struggled to pull Sasuke up to the surface. Their hands stretched outward, grasping for him, piling over one another in a desperate attempt to be the one to pull their murderer under.

"All I have to do is see your face and I can get out of here!" Itachi struggled to say as he fought with the many outstretched arms over Sasuke's body, another scream, louder, reverberating off the walls. 'I need to stay calm or else the Genjutsu will claim me for certain.' He thought as he pulled harder on the Sasuke illusion, blood splashing and drenching him as dead arms now revealed shoulders, and shoulders revealed decaying heads of his Clansmen.

Bodies began to float to the surface of the sticky red liquid, bloated and decaying, wounds saturated with infections which spilled out, bubbling and frothing into the blood they bobbed in. "Release this Jutsu!" Itachi yelled as his mother and father emerged from the blood, sputtering their own set of dialogue about how he had failed them in keeping Sasuke safe, their hands grasping his waist. "Enough of this!" He shouted angrily.

At this Sasuke finally emerged from the blood in a shot, eyes dripping red, Mangekyou Sharingan activated, a wickedly evil grin splitting his face from ear to ear. Scales began peeling off as though he were a snake and his Leaf forehead protector had been slashed. "This isn't a Genjutsu, you idiot!" He screamed as he lunged forward, digging a Kunai into Itachi's chest so fast the older brother didn't have time to react.

With a maniacal laugh, he pushed Itachi backward into the blood, holding him under by his throat in a tight grip, breaking Itachi's windpipe. The older brother felt his lungs begin to fill, the taste of blood invading his senses as pain burned and radiated from his chest. Sasuke's frightening expression continued to twist as he laughed harshly, hands gripping tighter still.

Itachi stared up in horror, unable to understand what had happened. 'How..?' Red began to fade to black and Itachi's body began to go numb. 'Sasuke...' He thought one last time as all other senses finally died out.

 _{**A/N: Lots of blood in this one! Was it creepy at all? Did it need more blood? Haha, maybe more Zombies?_

 _I love your feedback!_

 _Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}_

 _[Posted: Oct. 26, 2018]-[Wordcount: 1,861]_


	5. Ch4 Kisame

With a rumble from Samehada Kisame slowly came to. Groaning he set himself up as his sword crawled onto his lap and growled lowly. "What is it Samehada? What happened?" He asked while blinking back the sleep from his eyes, clearing them before looking around. "Where is everyone?"

Quickly jumping up to his feet, gripping Samehada's handle tightly, eyes peeled for anything, friend or foe he scanned his surroundings. "What the..?" He questioned out loud once realizing that no one else lay unconscious in the large metal room nor that they were standing around mockingly. "Hmm... I wonder where they went, or better yet, where I am." He mused. "It wouldn't be in character for Itachi to leave me behind like this." He looked up at the high ceiling of the meeting room, watching the dark windows light up with lightning before a rumble resonated inside the large cylindrical room.

"A Genjutsu perhaps?" Samehada growled again, wiggling in Kisame's grasp as another flash of lightning illuminated the grand space. "If it is, let's see if we can break it the long way just like Itachi has been teaching us." Kisame grinned down at Samehada enthusiastically before swinging the giant sword onto his shoulder and walking towards the open door, making his way outside into the rain that fell harshly against the platform.

Without a doubt this storm had become one of the most fierce that Kisame had ever witnessed and having grown up in The Land of Water, that was saying something. Not only did the drops of water fall with such a violent weight but it also poured in all different directions as the wind wiped around the Tower. The gale winds pushed at the metal structure, causing it to creak and groan despite the Tower being firmly rooted in the ground. Metal pipes screamed as air blasted through them, windows and doorways whistled in a high pitch that greatly annoyed Samehada.

The dangerous living sword curled ever so slightly against Kisame at the painful sounds. "Sorry, Samehada." Kisame cooed to his living sword. "This is an awful storm indeed." He looked up at the pouring rain as it fell onto him while he paused for a moment on the open platform which wrapped around the outside of the Tower.

Lightning struck one of the conductors, catching the swordsman's eye and for a moment Kisame wondered if they would be electrocuted, standing there outside on a metal platform so close to the lightning rod. The rod did its job though and not a single strand of lightning arched toward the surrounding buildings or the two living beings standing there. Deciding that it was no longer particularly safe to wander around outside this high up Kisame ducked back into one of the open doors to continue his search.

"Such poor design to have metal buildings where it never stops raining." He mocked with a playful smirk.

Now soaking wet with his once spiked hair laying nearly flat, Kisame looked around the new room. Nothing of interest immediately jumped out at him and without knowing how the tower looked in the first place he wasn't even sure what it was that he should be looking for in order to break the Jutsu. He had even begun wondering if this even was a Jutsu or if it happened to be something else entirely but the more he thought about it the more he decided that he was in fact in some sort of illusion. After all, it wasn't as if the other members would suddenly betray him, knocking him out only to then leave him laying there unconscious. Though, if it were a Jutsu, then who had cast it? Madara wasn't the type to play games like this so it being a Halloween prank from their true leader was off the table and Itachi was too reserved and respectful to even think of doing something like this.

"Well Samehada, if this isn't a Genjutsu then what happened to everyone? And if it is, who would have the ability to do it? They would have to know this Tower and Village pretty well with the level of details put in. It's all rather too real, including you." Samehada growled lowly and Kisame smirked. "Perhaps we were attacked and they decided to knock me out first, knowing I'd be the toughest opponent?" Kisame chuckled at his own humour and Samehada gurgled a groan in return. "That wouldn't be it, I know." He grinned playfully as he walked down a flight of stairs. "We would have sensed the new Chakra and battle long ago." He had somehow come full circle now, recognizing the stairs to his left as the ones leading to the open room just outside the meeting room.

Suddenly something new appeared to the shark man's senses, "Wait..." Kisame stopped when he reached the main floor. "This can't be right..." With new caution the tall blue man made his way across the open floor, finding the last set of stairs which lead outside before pausing in a debate, unsure if he should leave the Tower or continue trying to find the others inside.

After hearing a scream he quickly decided to descend them, making his way outside once more into the rain. Though he could not make out who it was that had screamed he knew that was where he needed to go because that was where the action is taking place. Kisame had never been one to turn down a fight so feeling a little left out he moved as quickly as he could in order to get there in time to participate.

Sprinting now into the Village streets towards the excitement of battle Kisame couldn't help the feeling of anxiety that had begun to rise within him. Those Chakra Signatures he had felt so suddenly inside, they were familiar; far too familiar and ones he believed he'd never cross again. What was more unsettling was how real they felt, even within a Genjutsu.

Thanks to Itachi's help Kisame had learned to distinguish the difference between living Chakra Signatures and memory ones within a Genjutsu. The use of Samehade inside an illusion wasn't possible, as the sword was unable to fall under such Jutsu having no eyes so Kisame had to develop his own way out. He could always hope that the real Samehada was attempting to break the illusion from the reality side of things but if he too had somehow become immobilized Kisame would have to do this himself.

Right now, even though Samehada was most likely just an illusion, the sword was still reacting the same way it would when confronted with familiar Chakra in the true world. Right now the sword was having a fit, no doubt due to a certain Chakra Signature which once held it so Kisame used this to his advantage and followed his swords lead. Though he was looking forward to finding out what was going on, to discovering how those familiar Chakra's were being used, he was also wary to the fact that Samehada also seemed eager to get there. A bit too eager, actually.

Making his way up and over the buildings, Kisame came to a stop a few blocks away from the Village Docks. He had heard someone scream again but still couldn't make out who it was. He also couldn't figure out in what direction their screaming had been coming from for that matter. It seemed to echo all over the place just like the thunder. The only thing he was able to sense seemed to be in what direction the Chakra was coming from which was just up ahead, most likely at the docks themselves.

With a growling Samehada in hand, Kisame walked through the remaining streets towards the waterfront. As he drew nearer the rain began to calm down, though unseen to him the water turned red when splashing back upwards. This created the effect of a red mist which followed after the dangerous Missing Kiri Nin. The thunder had silenced its roar a few paces back, leaving just the lightning to cause havoc as it lit up the surroundings in a menacing way. It cast stark shadows which danced about before they consumed the area once more. This darkness did not bother Kisame as his eyes were perfect for catching even the smallest amount of light which gave him a perfect picture of what was around him, although, he would appreciate the strobe lighting to stop as it was starting to give him a headache.

When he finally stepped out from between the buildings and looked out at the docks Kisame found it shrouded in a mist; heavy and red. "Bloody Mist..." He breathed, muscles tensing at the memories of what was once his home. Though the mist surrounding his Village hadn't actually been red with blood but rather having been given the name because of the gruesome and violent acts the Shinobi were meant to carry out, the once proud Kiri Shinobi couldn't help but feel apprehensive at the memories of all those he had killed because of the lies Kirigakure had fed him.

"Kisame, how lonely your life must have been." A familiar female voice spoke solemnly. Kisame took a step back out of caution, eyes glued to the approaching mist before him. He knew she was dead, he had killed her. It was a memory that had never left him no matter how much he wished it would. "You left the Bloody Mist, but it never left you, did it?" Miru asked as she stepped out of the thick of the mist which had slowly been advancing over the docks.

Kisame's eyes widened at the sight but he knew now for sure that this had to be some sort of illusion. He cut her down years ago, far before he had even been approached by Madara to join Akatsuki, yet here she stands, flesh rotten and sword wound gaping, eaten away by the maggots which spilled out with every step she took. Her eyes that once held such compassion and joy were now dead; she was nothing but a walking corpse.

"You aren't real." He stated in a mocking tone, raising his arm to point Samehada towards the approaching carcass. "None of this is." He watched as more corpses started to walk out of the red mist, all of them previous Comrades and even his old superior, Fuguki Suikanzan walked toward him.

Samehada stung Kisame's hand, his sharp spikes sticking through the blue flesh and forcing the man to let go before the sword slithered forward and into the hands of Fuguki, purring and gurgling happily. "You stupid, traitorous sword!" Kisame yelled, cursing as he looked over his impaled hand.

More shocked than anything, especially at the type of pain he felt for this being an illusion, Kisame hissed and cursed at his sword betrayal. He knew he was in an illusion but still, the thought of Samehada betraying him made his blood boil. He wanted to ignore the approaching figures and be finished with this Jutsu.

"Kisame, you are all alone," Miru said, suddenly standing very close to Kisame and looking up at his tall form, causing the Missing Nin to snap his attention away from his bleeding hand.

"No one cares about you." Fuguki continued, now standing behind Kisame with Samehada. "This world is all lies, Kisame, and your life is the biggest of them. Your life means nothing." Fuguki continued as the remainder of the Cypher Division began to crowd around them along with the many other Comrades Kisame had to cut down throughout the years as a Loyal Kiri Shinobi.

The rotting stench coming from the familiar corpses now surrounding him was beginning to turn Kisame's stomach. Their flesh dripped to the ground along with maggots and black blood, dead blood. Before his eyes the decomposing bodies of his former Comrades began to rot at a quicker rate, their bodies beginning to fall apart around him, dropping to the ground with a wet smack each time. "This is a Genjutsu," Kisame stated as he decided he was entirely fed up this illusion. Bringing his hands up to release the Jutsu he formed the Ram Hand Seal. "Release!" He yelled as Miru pulled out a Kunai.

"Kisame, this is not a Genjutsu. You have only one way out of this world." Miru calmly explained as she hovered the Kunai above Kisame's chest. "The same way we all fell." She used her free hand to gesture at all the others, their faces twisting and cracking, splitting grotesquely as they grinned. "Death by Comrade."

"It's time to join us in Hell," Fuguki said, raising Samehada and swinging downward as the other corpses plunged their weapons into Kisame.

Then the Bloody Mist engulfed them all.

{**A/N: Sorry this one took a while to get to the gore but Kisame is too smart so there was a lot of working around I had to do for him. Also, he had to get to the docks. What do you think, too comical? Boring? Not enough blood?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 27, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,141]


	6. Ch5 Sasori

With a sharp burst, Sasori sat up in a panic. He does not sleep so waking up on the ground out cold was something he never expected and therefore was not prepared for in the slightest. Eyes still wide he looked around the deserted metal room, the only sound that of the rainstorm outside and dripping water from a leak toward the open door. He could sense no one in the near vicinity and what was more illogical was the fact that he was cold. A shiver ran down his spine as he stood, still looking around the room for clues.

"This is not good." He spoke out loud, voice trembling ever so slightly from the chill he was fighting against. "This doesn't make any sense." He concluded as he looked at the palms of his hands. "I shouldn't be able to feel anything. I need to find out what happened."

Starting for the open door to the meeting room the Akatsuki had entered, Sasori began making mental notes of all the strange things he was now feeling. Not only was he having a physical reaction to blacking out but he noticed that his emotions were beginning to act irrationally. He had suppressed, even assuming that he had permanently gotten rid of these emotions, for this very purpose. They were a bother to have and made thinking logically a chore.

Having no time to ponder what had happened to the rest of the members the Puppet Master made his way through the room. Though it would have been a good idea to find the rest of Akatsuki, and in part that is exactly the purpose of his current heading, Sasori was more preoccupied with what had happened to himself to care much about the others. He knew they might have more information about what had happened, and therefore would possibly have information as to why the Puppet Body Sasori had worked so hard to create was reversing but his emotions, the panic at all of this, had already begun to hinder his reasoning.

Stopping at the stairs leading into the depths of one of the Towers many rooms Sasori opened his cloak and began examining himself further. He poked at his flesh, feeling his finger squish the soft outer layer which held his bones and organs. He made a face at the feeling around his finger and the feeling of his stomach where he had pressed. "So, my body has turned human once more? There is no Jutsu which could make this possible, not to my knowledge at least. There has to be something else behind all this."

Starting downward again Sasori eventually made his way to the stairs he and the others had come. Upon arriving at the base of those stairs he moved towards the door leading out into the rain, pausing to look at another door off to the side which had been opened. This door, if memory served him right, had been closed when they arrived.

Letting curiosity get the better of him Sasori opened the door wider and stared into the darkness. Trying the light switch on the side did nothing but cause a spark of electricity to arch outwards before dissipating, informing Sasori that the lightbulbs had blown previously. He would have to descend in darkness.

Though an anxiety was pushing its way to the forefront of his mind Sasori stubbornly ignored the mental warning to turn back and began to make his way down. Careful not to trip himself he let his hand slide along the railing as we walked. Each step was calculated as he knew it would be a painful experience should he trip and tumble down; with how his body is now he even had the very real possibility of dying.

At the sound of something crunching underfoot Sasori paused. Bending down and gingerly running his hand along the step he picked up what had made the noise; glass shards. "Curious..." He mused as he dropped the glass piece back down and continued on his way. 'So, it hasn't been too long since the light bulbs blew. I wonder if whoever had tried to turn the lights on before me are still down here?' He pondered as he continued making his way down.

Now at the base of the stairs, the Puppet Master looked around, squinting into the darkness as his eyes continued to adjust. There was only one small flame from a candle burning just to his left side on a table filled with surgical tools. The tools that laid there were rusted with fresh blood covering the sharp edges, dripping down and pooling underneath along the tray.

The candle burned low for a moment before growing bright, the flame licking upwards and illuminating a small radial around where Sasori stood. He now had a small area where he could see but beyond that, it was pitch black.

Hearing a noise off to his other side, out of sight hidden by the thick darkness, Sasori immediately prepared a Jutsu. He summoned a few of his puppets and held them in his Chakra Strings tightly. He had to be careful with his human body so there was no way he was going to wander unarmed into the unknown.

Instead of walking into the darkness to investigate the source of the noise though, the Puppets turned their attention to their Master; jaws dropped open, eyes rolled into the back of their heads and joints began to chatter. As they did this, the outer form of their bodies began to disintegrate, peeling off and turning into falling dust. Their sizes shifted and morphed into something else, or rather someone else, right before his eyes.

In front of him no longer stood his two most battle-ready Puppets but rather his Parent Puppets, eyes still rolled back, mouths gaping and joints chattering. He knew that they were not in his arsenal, they had not been in his possession since before he left Sunagakure so they should not be in front of him now.

Sasori watched as the new forms of his Parent Puppets began to degrade, though it was at a much slower pace and instead of turning into dust it was sand, red and clumped with blood which fell from their forms. Thicker sand, wet and dripping red, poured from their mouths as they began to approach Sasori. Their movements were more lifelike than that of even his Puppetry skill.

"This isn't possible!" He yelled, face contorted into that of fear and anger. "It's decided, with this level of madness this can only be a Genjutsu! There's no other way I'd be able to fall asleep and wake to these illogical hallucinations!" With this reasoning, Sasori's face contorted to that akin to madness and he laughed wildly before his face fell, eyes widening in fear.

Backing up away from the Parent Puppets who were now gurgling in an attempt to speak, Sasori began making his way back towards the door he had come from. As he turned around to retreat up the stairs the door slammed shut and clicked heavily, locking him in the dark room. The handle for the steel door was nowhere to be seen to attempting to pry it open was out of the question. Instead, Sasori turned around, made the Ram Hand Seal and shouted, "Release!"

Nothing happened. He remained within the illusion.

The Parent Puppets began to bleed more blood than sand the closer they got to him, a sick stench radiating off of them, blowing into his face every time they tried to speak. "Don't you want a hug, Sasori?" The Mother Puppet finally got vocalized, outstretching her arms as the material making up her body began to rot, her voice bubbling as blood continued to pour out. "I missed you so much, Sasori."

"We both did." The Father Puppet continued, his face already half rotted away. "We're you good for your Grandmother while we were away?" He asked just before his smile faded into a stern look of disappointment. "No, you weren't." His voice, through the gurgling of blood and sand, became deadly. Raising his arms upward the ceiling began to vibrate and the sound of metal clanging against metal filled the space.

Sasori could only watch in fear, his plan to break the Genjutsu having failed. Even with the distortion, he recognized their voices to truly be those of his Mother and Father. Whatever was going on was a horribly sick joke and he was not liking it one bit. "Stay back, you're not real!" He yelled, though his voice wavered so the threatening tone he had tried to use came out weak and uneven. "None of this is possible! You're dead and I know this isn't the Reanimation Jutsu either!" He continued, trying desperately to logically explain what was happening.

Now it was the Mother Puppets turn to lose her smile and angrily look at the Puppet Master. "Sasori, I thought you would be happy that we finally came back for you." The Mother Puppet spoke, raising her arms as well. "It seems you need to be disciplined!" The metal ceiling began to shake more, the sound of chains now jingling around in the darkness which caused a confusing echo so the Missing Nin was unable to determine what was going to happen.

Without warning the chains shot forward, giving Sasori no time to defend himself. Each chain held a hook at the end which dug their way deep into Sasori's flesh at each joint, one even piercing the top of his skull causing Sasori to scream in agony, writhing in an attempt to escape the pain. The chains pulled tight, forcing Sasori to make the hand signs necessary to summon his Puppets.

Vision going black Sasori saw a group of Puppets appear, each one instantly beginning to corrode away as they made their way into the dim lighting. One Puppet pushed its way through the group and past the Mother and Father Puppets, grinning from ear to ear.

"Komushi..." Sasori struggled to get out. "I destroyed you... long ago in battle... After I took you back from your mother..." Komushi's grin only widened and a maddening look took over his rotting form.

"Oh, that, yes." He spoke in feigned nostalgia. "Well, you see, you harboured guilt for that little act, for what you did to me in the first place. You know, killing me." He shrugged like he didn't care too much about it. "That's why I'm here, why I was summoned back from that destruction." He waved behind him to the others. "We're all here for you Sasori, to repay you."

The chains tugged even harder, pushing and pulling Sasori around like a Living Puppet until he had walked over and sat down on a Surgical Table. Komushi approached him as another rotting Puppet walked over with the low burning candle. "Sasori, do you want to be made back into a Puppet?" Komushi asked as he held up a rusted saw from the tray of Surgical Tools one of the other chattering Puppet had pushed over.

"...Not like this..!" Sasori managed to choke out, only eliciting a small bout of chuckling from the blood spewing Puppets. "No..." Consciousness was fading fast as he was made to lay down on the table. "Mother... Father..." Tears began to well in his eyes and spill down the sides of his face as Komushi exchanged his giant saw for a scalpel. "I'm...AH!" Komushi, in a swift, unsteady movement had sliced the blade through Sasori's chest, opening him up from the center of his collarbone to his lower abdomen. Blood began to gush out, warming Sasori's cold sides as the hot liquid spilled over but at the same time freezing him in shock.

Gripping the sides of the large gash Komushi pried the edges apart and then motioned for the other Puppets to hold the flesh open. "Let's see now," He began playfully, blood and sand dripping from him as he leaned over his creator. "I believe all these need to be taken out, right?" He mocked, poking at the organs within Sasori's body. "I don't think I need this anymore." He said as he looked at the scalpel before tossing it over his shoulder. "Ripping them out will be a much faster approach, don't you think?"

Sasori had enough by this point; vision now black and pain intensifying. His mind was numb and he fell unconscious at the feeling of his internals being tugged violently out. The Puppets continued to chuckle as they tore into him.

{**A/N: So, Sasori had a few fears, yes?

I hope I got the creep factor of this portrayed decently. I mean, there are a lot of people who are creeped out by ventriloquists and puppetry so I had a decent time making this story. I hope the Puppets were scary!

Thought? Were you creeped out? Do puppets and other lifelike inanimate objects scare you?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 28, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,100]


	7. Ch6 Deidara

Groaning in pain Deidara brought a hand up to his head where it had made contact with the metal floor. He rubbed it gingerly before opening his eye and looking at the high ceiling. Realizing he had blacked out and was now laying down on the filthy metal floor amidst all the Akatsuki members, panic set in. With a yelp he jumped to his feet, immediately regretting his actions as he swayed while the blood rushed back to the rest of his body.

After stabilizing himself and letting his vision return to normal he slowly looked around the room, the whole time waiting for the others to laugh at him and ridicule how weak he was to have passed out for whatever reason. No such thing happened though. The room was completely empty.

"Oh, come on! Did they seriously just leave me here?! Hm!" He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at the empty doorway across the room from him. 'That's not the door that was open when we came in here...' He thought, immediately realizing that something very strange was going on.

Deciding to ignore the open door for the moment Deidara made his way around the large meeting room, trying to open every door he walked past and trying even harder on the one he had originally come through. Finding that he wasn't going to get anywhere if he kept messing around with all these doors Deidara instead decided to make his way through the only open door.

'Fine, if they want me to go this way, I will, but only for now.' He thought as he made his way through the door, entirely expecting to be pranked the moment he stepped through. 'If I don't like what's down this corridor I'll just go back and blow open the door leading out of here.' With this thought complete, the eerie squealing of rusted hinges resonated through the hall before the loud slam as the door closed behind him.

Turning around and running to the door to open it Deidara found that yet another door had been locked. "Damn it!" He shouted. "Fine, I'll just blow all the doors open, hm!" He huffed, reaching into his bags of clay so he could begin moulding his Art, only to find that the bags were empty. "What the hell?" He exclaimed as he quickly undid his utility belt and turned the bags upside-down, shaking them before turning it back up and peering inside. To his horror, they were completely empty.

Now seething mad Deidara kicked the steel door with all his might, a crunching noise sounding as his foot made contact with a thud. "OUCH!" The blond grabbed his foot and began jumping around, tears starting to sting at his eyes. "JUST GREAT!" He continued as he slumped down against the dirty walls, resting in a thin sheet of water which had been brought in from the storm outside. Taking a moment to calm himself down so he could figure out what was going on Deidara closed his eyes, trying hard to ignore the pain in his now broken foot as thunder vibrated the floor beneath him.

Breathing now becoming steady despite the still painful throbbing in his toes and foot, Deidara opened his eyes and looked around the hall only to discover a group of figures standing at the far end. Figuring they might be the other members of the Akatsuki coming back from wherever it was they had gone, Deidara pushed himself up from the wet floor and began to hobble onward, calling out to his fellow members. "Oi! What's the big idea leaving me like that, hm?" He demanded, nearly falling as he slipped against the wet ground, grasping the metal piping which protruded from the floor of each level and ascended to the next through the ceiling, slicing his hand open in the process. "And someone seriously needs to do maintenance on this place! Hm!"

Paying more attention to his hand than the shadowy figures Deidara now began to bandage his wound with a piece of his cloak, whining as the fabric pressed against the cut which had slit open the lower "lip" of his hand-mouth. Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut he finally managed to tie the makeshift bandage. "I knew that joining the Akatsuki was going to be nothing but trouble, yeah." He groaned as he slumped further against the wall with a heavy sigh.

Deciding that he had sulked enough and that it was time to find the others so he could finally get some answers, Deidara pushed off the wall and once again began limping his way through the corridor in search of the figures he had seen. The figures were no longer at the end of the hallway which only caused the anger Deidara was feeling to intensify, knowing that they most likely sensed his Chakra or at least heard him yelling in pain. Bringing to light both of these factors Deidara then realized that while they should have sensed his Chakra he should have been able to sense theirs as well, which he was not able to and even now while focusing still he could not. "What the hell is going on?" He mumbled as he started to round the corner where the group of shadows had previously been standing.

When the young blonde finally turned the corner he had to stop himself from screaming, clamping a hand over his mouth as he came face to face with an oddly placed Alabaster Stone statue; nose almost touching the statues as he stared into the blank stone eyes. Eyebrow twitching and heart rate erratic Deidara slowly took a step backwards, realizing too late that he was stepping down with his broken foot. In an instant he was now on his knees, biting his lip as pain shot through him.

Glaring up at the statue Deidara began to stand back up. "Stupid thing! Hm!" He snorted, rolling his eyes at the obvious trick that was played on him. "Well played you immature losers, yeah." Believing that it had to be the other members, most likely that Tobi fellow and Hidan, Deidara pushed the statue over, watching it shatter on the ground. Now that his heart rate had settled he decided to continue, looking up only to find a hallway full of the statues. "Well, this sure is creepy, hm..."

Carefully manoeuvring around the rest of the statues Deidara finally made it to the end of the next hall. Turning around to glance back at the creepily placed statues in farewell the bomber now screamed, coming face to face with the statues all over, only this time they had devious expressions carved onto their faces and had walled off the corridor.

"What the hell?!" He shouted, twisting around and beginning to sprint only to fall flat on his face, water splashing up and raining back down on him. In a hurry to escape the hallway of terror Deidara didn't even check his surroundings as he scrambled back up and began moving forward. "This isn't funny you guys! This is way too childish! Come out and knock this off! Hm!" He yelled, limping and stumbling blindly forward, only acknowledging where he now was when the lightning ripped through the sky accompanied by a scream in the distance.

"OK, Deidara, calm down! That was pretty freaky but there has to be an explanation, yeah!" He reasoned with himself as he looked around. 'To begin with, I shouldn't be outside.' Feeling the rain soaking him and the wind giving him a chill Deidara quickly moved under cover of one of the buildings. 'I was up on one of the upper floors of Leaders Tower in a hallway with a bunch of creepy statues.' He looked up through the rain at the tower he was now hiding outside of, at the Tower he was supposed to still be inside. 'The other thing is those statues themselves. At first, I thought they were placed there by the other members merely to freak me out as some sort of Halloween prank, but now I'm thinking something else is at play here because they shouldn't have been able to move and change expressions like that.'

Running his hand up toward his eye scope Deidara began to remove it. 'This leaves me under the impression that this is just another one of Itachi's Genjutsu's! How idiotic of him to play such a childish prank, hm!' Closing his right eye Deidara began to focus with his left. 'I haven't had a lot of time to train this eye but hopefully, I'll still be able to break this Genjutsu.' Using his left eye to focus and performing the Hand Seal Ram, Deidara tried to release himself of the illusion but nothing happened.

'Well, that's just great.' He thought as he sighed in frustration as another scream pierced through the rainfall. 'Guess I need to do this the hard way.' Pulling a Kunai from his holster Deidara prepared to wound himself just enough to break the Genjutsu, stopping short of stabbing himself in the leg when he saw the make-shift bandage wrapped around the wound on his hand. 'Wait a moment,' he thought, lowering the Kunai. 'If this was a Genjutsu I should have been able to break out of it long ago! I've broken my foot and sliced my hand open so I shouldn't be under the illusion anymore!' Confusion setting in Deidara looked up at the Tower again. "Itachi, if this is you knock it off! You already won that stupid battle! Leave me alone! Hm!" Nothing came of his shouting.

Looking back down Deidara's heart skipped. Now standing in front of him with that same creepy expression was the first statue he had run into. What was really annoying was the fact he knew he smashed it and yet this is the second time he's come face to face with it.

Giving no thought to his actions Deidara went to push the statue over again in order to make a break for it but to his surprise the statue moved, gripping his wrist painfully tight. In a deep, gargling voice the statue then spoke.

"Do you want to become Art?" It asked, an evil grin cracking its face causing a black liquid to dribble out of its mouth. "Become art."

"NO!" Deidara yelled, trying to wrench his hand free which was quickly losing feeling. "Back off! I'm not ready to die yet, yeah!" At this the statue chuckled, causing more of the black liquid to pour from its mouth.

"You won't die." It spoke, now inching closer. "Art is Eternal."

At this Deidara lost whatever fear he had and clenched his teeth. "No! Art is an EXPLOSION! HM!" Kicking the statue and then sticking a paper bomb to it Deidara quickly removed himself from the statues grasp as its arm was blown off. "Ha! See? That is ART, yeah!" Grinning like a fool himself the Explosion Artist began running for his life.

"Art is Eternal." Came the echo of the statue, its broken voice mixed in with that of many others. Looking around Deidara now realized there were many more statues lining the streets, all their voices repeating the same thing he so hated to hear.

"SHUT UP!" He screeched, looking around at the statues as they slowly began closing in on him, all their faces cracking, allowing the black liquid to ooze out. Not wanting to get stuck between the moving statues Deidara began running, heading for anywhere there might be a large group of people or any amount of people for that matter. "Where the hell is everyone?"

Pace now slowing, Deidara looked down, remembering that his foot shouldn't be holding up this well. "What!?" Nearly tripping as he began to come to a stop Deidara watched his foot slowly encase in stone. "What's happening to me?" Panicking now he began moving more frantically, reaching out for the wall to stabilize his movements which were becoming increasingly difficult the more his foot and leg turned to stone.

With wide eyes, he now noticed his hand had become encased and the stone was slowly creeping up his arm. Looking over at the other hand which he hadn't been able to feel for some time he saw the flesh tips of his fingers disappear into stone. The place where the stone statue had gripped him now had stone expanding outwards. More than panicked Deidara went to break the stone off, kicking his stone-covered foot against the metal building only to have it shatter and crumble away, blood now spurting from the break.

The statues slowly began circling Deidara as he fell, bleeding onto the ground. Unable to grasp anything to break his fall he had instinctively put his hands down first to catch himself, only causing his stone arms to shatter and produce more blood flow. Deidara's consciousness faded to black as the pool of blood beneath him grew wider and wider, washing away in small streams in the rain.

"Art is Eternal." The statues spoke in unison as their broken, black bleeding faces stared down at the young artist as he finished turning to stone.

{**A/N: Deidara doesn't want to be Eternal, he wants to be an Instant in life so having creepy statues stalk you and try to turn you into Eternal Art sounded like something he would fear.

Deidara is also a pretty intelligent character who is also very easy to set off so this turned out a little comical in areas.

Also, I think I might have ended up rushing the end... But with everything else and trying to stick to a 2,000-word limit it was difficult. (I'm no good at short stories... haha)

What do you think? Was it creepy enough? What would you do/feel if you had moving ghostly white statues following you around, trying to turn you into one? Was there enough blood?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 29, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,209]


	8. Ch7 Kakuzu

With a grunt Kakuzu slowly sat himself up, groaning at the throbbing he suddenly felt in his back. After having a moment to grouch about the new pain he finally looked around, ready to kill whoever had knocked him out. To his great annoyance, he realized that he was the only one there in the large metal meeting room. Not only did he not understand what had happened, but he also awoke to find he had been left behind by the other members.

Not that he expected anything else, of course. You can't count on other people, only money. Which after this stunt he was going to find Pein and demand a larger sum for his services.

Standing up stiffly he began walking towards the open door on the other side of the room. Pein's office was located up the stairs and he was going to have a word, immediately. Not even caring that the other members were missing or what had happened to them, Kakuzu began his assent higher up the Tower.

Not even halfway up the long staircase, Kakuzu had to stop and take a breather. "This isn't right." He grumbled as he steadied himself against the railing. "These few stairs shouldn't cause me this much fatigue." Letting his breathing settle Kakuzu then continued, making it to the top of the stairs with some difficulty. 'I guess my age is starting to catch up.' He thought as he knelt down, supporting himself with the wall as he tried, once more, to catch his breath. 'Damn it.'

Standing back up he continued his way down the corridor to Pein's office. The storm outside raging on; lightning flashing and irritating his vision, thunder booming and irritating his hearing. The puddles splashing underneath were causing his feet to go cold and the dampness of the Village had been causing his joints to ache. Angrier than anything about the way his body was acting Kakuzu could only assume one of the hearts he had were now coming to the end of their usefulness.

"Pein, we need to talk," Kakuzu demanded as he swung the door open to his Leaders office, though when he stepped inside he did not find Pein. Just as it always was, the space used as an office was chaotically organized; scrolls, books and loose papers stacked on Peins desk and to the sides, filling multiple shelving units. Kakuzu was used to seeing this room as he was often in the Tower, either physically or by the Magic Lantern Jutsu Technique, discussing strategies or funds with the Leader.

Looking around the Leaderless room Kakuzu noticed a secret door behind a shelf which had been cracked open just slightly. 'I wonder what's in there.' He pondered as he let curiosity run its course.

Carefully making his way towards the shelving the old miser gradually pushed the large door open and peered around the corner. 'I'm not sensing anyone in there.' Deciding that he was indeed alone Kakuzu made his way through the door and up another set of stairs, grumbling to himself the whole way about how this place was an annoyance to get around and how he hated coming here.

Approaching the end of the small secret stairway the elder member of the Akatsuki found the vault containing the Akatsuki Treasury. This was Pein's secret money vault where all the money the members raised was kept in order to be used later for whatever missions they were to be sent on. The walls and floor were lined with cases and stacks of money as well as a few rare and valuable looking items.

Kakuzu scoffed at the disregard for the safety of the money by leaving the secret door to the vault room open, as well as the vault door itself. Looking around Kakuzu also noticed how nothing was organized meaning that nothing had been properly counted and arranged by what needed to be paid. "That Pein, he must come in here only to count what is needed right away. No regard for a proper system where you know what money you are spending. It needs to be counted so you are aware of what you have left over as profit or what can be put towards other necessities."

Making his way deeper into the large vault Kakuzu decided this was more important than finding Pein or learning what had happened to the other members. He is the Akatsuki Treasurer after all so there was no way he could turn a blind eye to the sorry state the Treasury was in.

Sitting down at the small desk just outside the vault with a case of money Kakuzu began counting its contents. He let himself get so lost in his work that he hadn't noticed the change of the layout of the room. No longer were the walls bare metal but now they held chains which dripped with blood; stained with flesh torn from previous captives. The ceiling began to drip water, puddles forming underfoot while the piping creaked and groaned, rattling as air and water moved through them and thunder shook the Tower.

The next flash of lightning cast shadows of bars across the desk that Kakuzu sat at, causing the elder to look up, eyes widening as he realized the appearance of the room had shifted. No longer were the walls entirely closed off to the outside but rather there was one small, barred window letting the cold air inside. No longer was there a wide-open door leading to a set of stairs but rather a caged door leading into a pitch blackness, sealed with Tags on all corners. The ceiling had grown algae and rusted while the puddles on the floor were now a rustic colour. The office-like space had been changed into a prison cell.

Making to stand Kakuzu was instantly held back down, his hands not being able to lift high due to the new binds that cuffed around his wrists. The chains of these shackles lead back to the walls where, in an instant, they pulled their captive harshly against the wall with a sickening smack, his skull colliding with the metal.

"What the hell is happening?!" Kakuzu yelled aloud, looking around in shock, eyes narrowing in concentration once he noticed the pile of money he had just finished counting had been pushed off the table and now lay in the murky water. Angered by this turn of events he tried to break free from his binds, finding only that his strength was slowly being drained away. "This is some form of illusion." He decided on as he watched the table slowly begin to degrade, rotting and becoming dirt. 'But who would be able to do such a thing?' Knowing full well that, although immature, the other members wouldn't pull something this childish, Kakuzu could only assume that it had to be from an outside force, though how they managed to get past the Amegakure defences and sneak up on the Akatsuki members was unknown.

Feeling a sharp pain coming from his upper back Kakuzu arched forwards before feeling a wet substance truckle down his flesh. A wave of fatigue washed over him and his Chakra dropped giving him the understanding that one of his five hearts had given out; the mask on his back cracking and unnaturally spilling blood. This news was more alarming than even that of the mud-soaked money as it meant that outside of the illusion he was really dying.

"I can't let this happen. If I could just extend my arms," Trying to use his Earth Grudge Fear Jutsu Kakuzu watched, waiting for his arms to release at the stitching and snake around to his front so he could perform the Hand Seal necessary to release the Genjutsu but no such thing happened. Looking at his arms in confusion as another one of his hearts died, mask cracking open to allow more blood to soak his back, the old miser ran his tongue along the inside of his cheeks, checking for the stitching that should be there. "This isn't possible."

Eyes now wide at the realization that his Earth Grudge Fear Jutsu was starting to remove itself from his body a small panic started to settle into the pit of his stomach. If that alone wasn't bad enough there now came a soft glow from the vault door where all the money was being kept. A little confused Kakuzu stilled, waiting for whatever was going to happen to happen, hoping that he would be able, somehow, to counter it. What he didn't expect though, and what drained the colour from his face, were the embers floating out of the vault into the newly made cell.

After the initial shock started to die down Kakuzu was then able to see that chunks of burning money were floating from the vault as well. Quiet laughter also could be heard from inside the Vault although Kakuzu had not seen nor sensed anyone in there when he was collecting the suitcase of money. The laughter grew in volume and distortion until a figure finally appeared inside the Vault door, grinning sinisterly. Eventually, more figures appeared in the glow, each with their own malicious expression.

Even with the level of decay, Kakuzu was able to recognize who these figures were. He had killed them many, many decades ago before stealing the Kinjutsu which granted him his near immortality. They were the Elders of the Village he came from; Takigakure.

"We will take everything from you once more." The Lead Elder spoke, choking on its own blood which spewed out across the room. "You will die, rotting in prison as you should have years ago."

Even though he had decided this was just an illusion Kakuzu was unable to just watch the precious money become nothing but fuel for the fire. He didn't care all that much about the appearance of his past victims but he didn't want to stick around and deal with whatever it was that the Zombies wanted with him. They were not even on his priority list at this moment. 'Nuisance's' He thought as he started to struggle within the binds once more.

Though his own life was literally at stake which already gave him an incentive to release himself from this trap, the loss of money he had tirelessly helped raise became the final straw. Adrenaline now pumping through his remaining hearts, the more experienced Shinobi began to twist at his binds, pulling with all his might against the chains as he tried to rip them out of the wall. Brute strength still not having an effect he then decided that causing himself physical harm in another way was going to have to be the replacement for the Chakra Surge needed to disrupt the Genjutsu.

As Kakuzu attempted to at least dislocate one of his joints, hoping that the pain from it would be enough, the light from inside the vault continued to grow brighter. Now able to feel the heat entering the cold and damp cell caused him to become a little careless, not paying attention to what the remainder of his body was going through. Unable to feel the drain of Chakra or the Fatigue he had been exhibiting before from the dying hearts caused him to overwork the three remaining, in turn cracking a third wide open and splitting the fourth. Blood gushed from his back from the loss of hearts and his vision was starting to go as well.

"This is not going to be how it ends..." He tried to convince himself as his last heart started to slow the blood flow. He could feel his very being begin to degrade, energy being zapped entirely as the Jutsu that had kept him alive for nearly ninety years unravelled and his body turned frail.

The burning, rotting corpses of the Taki Village Elders wandered closer to their killer, eyeless sockets staring into Kakuzu's soul. "We are taking back what was never yours." They murmured through the thick, oozing blood.

Finally, his last heart gave out as he began coughing up blood. His lungs filled with the red liquid, drowning him as he watched the fire reach the door of the vault. 'How..?' Shuddering, Kakuzu's worn out body finally went limp as the Zombie Elders tore into his ageing flesh.

{**A/N: So, this one ended up being more of just a death scene than a horror story... Sorry... ^-^'

Having been imprisoned before and having a love for money that outweighs anything, I thought somehow integrating the two would be a decent story.

Can't go wrong with bleeding Zombies staring at you creepily and threatening your money, right?

So, thoughts? Do you think I convoyed Kakuzu's fear well enough? Was it creepy to read? Did you see it coming from a mile away? What would have made it better?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 30, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,063]


	9. Ch8 Zetsu

_"Ow, what happened?"_ Shiro Zetsu winced as he placed a hand to his head. _"Were we under attack?"_

 **"No you idiot, our clones would have detected intruders and so would Nagato's rain. It was probably those other members."** Kuro Zetsu snapped as he forced their body to stand. **"Idiots, all of them."** Shiro sighed heavily as they looked around.

 _"If it was one the other members, or even one or two of them getting into some sort of brawl, don't you think this place would be in ruins then?"_ Shiro asked as they looked around the otherwise intact room.

Kuro looked around skeptically before huffing. **"We'll go see if we can locate Tobi anywhere. He's bound to know more."** Shiro nodded and the two of them made to sink into the ground, only stopping when they heard a scratching noise followed by Tobi's giggling coming from the open doorway across from them.

 _"Looks like finding Tobi will be a lot easier than anticipated, huh Kuro?"_ Shiro smiled wide and they began walking towards the noises.

 **"That's if that idiot stays put for more than a few minutes,"** Kuro grumbled as they walked after the sound of Tobi's giggles **. "Tobi never could stay still for very long and I doubt Obito has any control in this matter."**

 _"True, Tobi has been wanting to meet the other members for some time. He must be really excited now that he's met them."_ Kuro scoffed at this.

 **"That's all we need, for that idiot to be hyped up this much."** Shiro just chuckled as they rounded a corner, the sound of Tobi's high pitched laughing getting closer. **"He better not blow his cover or anyone else's for that matter."**

 _"He wouldn't mean to if he did, and I'm sure whatever happens can be perfectly rectified. Tobi is supposed to be hyper and I doubt anyone would be able to hurt him even if he angered them too much, what with Obito's Kamui ability."_ Shiro smiled happily as thunder and lightning continued to play in the background, lighting up the halls through the open windows.

The two continued to walk for a time until they came to an intersection, the sound of Tobi's giggling echoing down each hall making it hard for them to tell where it was originally coming from. **"We should split,"** Kuro suggested, already pulling himself away from Shiro.

 _"Agreed, and I'll make a clone to go down the third corridor."_ They split into their two sides and Kuro watched as Shiro made the Clone Hand Seal.

They waited for a moment before Kuro started to get angry. **"Well, what the hell are you waiting for?"**

Shiro brought a hand up and scratched the top of his head in confusion. _"I'm trying but it's just not working. I don't know what's going on..."_ He tried once more but the same results were given.

Nothing.

This time Kuro attempted it, cursing when it didn't work and getting even more upset when he couldn't reach the Clone Network they had established. They weren't even able to phase into the ground. " **Fine, we'll just have search two corridors at once."** He grumbled as he tried to think of why they were unable to perform any Jutsu. **"Meet back here when you've done searching your side."** Kuro turned and began walking down the hall to his right.

 _"Wait, do you think this is a good idea? I mean, we're not very good fighters and if something happens where we can't get away..."_ Shiro began to get worked up, his fear starting to show as he thought about what might happen if he couldn't make Clones or get away from a fight. He didn't want to get hit if he walked in on the other members battling or stumble upon an unknown intruder.

Kuro stopped and turned around to glare at his other half. **"If you hear battling, don't just approach them. We're spies, you shouldn't be easily seen even if you can't phase into the surroundings."** Agitation was showing in his tone and Shiro frowned, though he really wasn't that affected by the harsh reply. He bet Kuro was also feeling uneasy about their current circumstances but having the personality that he does Kuro wasn't about to show any form of weakness.

Shiro sighed and nodded. _"Alright. Still, be careful. We have too much responsibility toward Madara to get ourselves killed."_ Kuro scoffed and continued down his chosen hall. Shiro sighed once more and turned to go down the opposite hallway. _"This is a really bad idea."_

Shiro continued walking down the long corridor, watching as the lightning flashed and illuminated the otherwise dark halls. _"And here I had thought the cave Madara stayed in was depressing,"_ Shiro spoke aloud as he looked from side to side, inspecting the grim of the metal as he followed the sound of Tobi's giggling. The noise had been steadily gaining in volume so he believed his path was the correct one. Had Kuro just stayed with him and let him pick they wouldn't be wandering around by themselves separately _. "He never listens to me though."_ The more talkative side sighed out.

About to turn a corner the giggling suddenly stopped as an eerie scream echoed off the walls. Turning around to look back down the hall where the scream had come from Shiro shivered _. "Too spooky for my liking."_ He commented as he turned back around, only to scream a little at what was in front of him before he narrowed his eyes. _"Tobi! That wasn't funny!"_ He scorned his sibling Zetsu.

Tobi only giggled, placing his hands over the mouth of his mask. "But it's Halloween!" He cheered with a shrug.

 _"Still, something weird is happening and it's starting to creep me out. Kuro and I had to separate just to find you."_ Tobi giggled again, waving for Shiro to follow him. _"Tobi, do you know what's going on? We woke up and no one was in sight."_

"Um..." Tobi began, gripping the chin of his mask in mock thought. "Well, it's Halloween!" He decided. Shiro shook his head with a sigh.

 _"I doubt anyone here would cause this much..."_ Shiro stopped talking and looked at Tobi for a moment _. "Tobi, did you have something to do with this?"_ A small smile was beginning to form on his face as he started to admire the prank.

"Nope." Shiro's smile faltered. "Tobi had convinced Obito to help play a prank on everyone by putting them all in a Genjutsu but then something went wrong." He shrugged. "We woke up all alone too." Shiro frowned at this as they rounded another corner.

" _Kuro and I woke up in the empty meeting room. Where did you wake up?"_ Tobi giggled again, a little darker this time as he reached to open a door.

"In an empty meeting room." He said simply as he opened the door to said mentioned room, revealing it to no longer be empty.

 _"Hashirama Senju's Artificial Body?"_ Shiro asked in confusion and disbelief. "How did that get here? Tobi, what's going on?" Tobi chuckled and stood off to the side as Shiro walked a few paces into the room.

"Oh, just a reclaiming." Tobi chuckled even darker and slammed the metal door shut, locking Shiro in the large room.

Feeling more fearful after what Tobi had just said to him Shiro backed up against the door, staring at the tree. He stood there for a moment watching how the white tendrils that used to hold the Zetsu Clones would sway ever so slightly. The draft which came in from the open windows high up the walls of the room causing them to move in an eerie fashion.

After a while of watching nothing else seemed to be presenting itself and so Shiro began to laugh nervously, mentally scolding Tobi for tricking him this way and himself for being so gullible. He should have known nothing was actually going to happen _. 'The appearance of Hashirama's Living Clone at the Tower must be a part of the presentation during the meeting.'_ He suggested to himself, although he had no idea how this would fit into the plan when they needed the Gedo Statue.

As soon as he began calming down though, the white tendrils shot out from the tree, making their way towards him at an alarming rate. They wrapped themselves tightly around his limbs, waist and neck, pulling him towards the tree as an eerie chanting could be heard, the whisperings drowned out by his fearful yelling.

Shiro tried to struggle, leaning forward, attempting to grasp anything, even the floor, to stop himself from moving _. "No! What's happening!? Tobi, help!"_ He cried out but no one answered him. All he could hear was the steadily increasing noise coming from the tree as wooden arms reached outward, grasping onto him tight _. "No, I don't want this! I like being alive!"_ He yelled as the hands pulled him into the tree.

 _"Tobi!"_ Echoed off the walls, fading into silence before the sound of rain and thunder took over once more.

Kuro grumbled quietly to himself as he walked down the empty hallway, the lightning casting wicked shadows across the walls around him before the sound of thunder flooded his other senses, blocking out Tobi's constant giggling. **"Where the hell is that brat heading?"** He pondered as he rounded yet another corner, following the same high-pitched sound he had been tracking for what felt like the last hour. **"Obito is going to get an earful if he doesn't take some control back from that idiot."** He sighed heavily **, "Scratch that, an idiot leading an idiot will always end with the same result no matter which idiot leads."**

Kuro stopped walking when he heard a blood-curdling scream. He turning around to try and pinpoint where it had come from and who it might have been. **'Did Shiro find something?'** He pondered as the echo faded. **'No, that was too girly even for him.'** Deciding that it wasn't worth his time to turn around and look for someone else he continued in the direction he had been going.

As he rounded another corner he was instantly tackled to the ground by the masked man-child he had been searching for. **"Obito, I want to talk to you!"** Kuro demanded as he violently pushed Tobi off of himself, standing up and towering menacingly over the duo.

"Sorry there Grumpy Zetsu, Obito isn't here right now!~" Tobi sang mockingly, pulling himself up and clasping his hands behind his back. "Something went wrong with our prank and we woke up alone." He continued with a shrug of the hands and shoulders before waving Kuro to follow him.

 **"Where the hell do you think you're going?"** Kuro growled as he reluctantly followed the hyperactive Swirly Zetsu **. "What happened to Obito? He's needed to play the part of Madara and push forth the Eye of the Moon Plan."**

"Follow me and you'll see~! I already found Shiro Zetsu." Tobi pointed his finger in the air matter-of-factly. "He's waiting back in the meeting room." Kuro glared at Tobi but followed him nonetheless, watching the actions of the Swirly Zetsu as they made their way back toward the meeting room.

 **"Where are the others?"** Kuro inquired as he watched Tobi from behind, the lightning that flashed against him creating a horribly twisted shadow along the floors and walls.

"Oh, don't worry about them. They're all busy right now anyway!" Tobi answered, not once looking back as he reached for the door of the meeting room. "Pretty sure everything will be answered once you step through this door." With that Tobi opened the door and waved Kuro in with a sinister chuckle.

Kuro didn't budge though, glaring at Tobi suspiciously. He went to lash out at Tobi, refusing to go inside until some of his questions were actually answered from the hyperactive nutjob but he paused, slightly set on edge as he heard a familiar voice whisper from inside the meeting room.

"Kuro..." The female voice spoke, calling him in. "Kuro, please come here." Confused and on alert, though partially hopeful, Kuro began walking into the room.

The first thing he became aware of was how bright it had suddenly gotten. Looking up he noticed the light was coming from the open windows, the rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared letting in a brilliant light from the moon.

 **"This isn't right..."** He began, looking around even more skeptically than before. Amegakure was the Village that always rained, hence its name, Village Hidden in the Rain.

Then the voice came again.

"Kuro... What's taking you so long my child..?" It was a ghostly echo, resonating all around the room but so familiar. "What have you been doing all this time..?" She asked, the tone of her voice filled with disappointment.

 **"Mother..."** Kuro whispered, looking up at the window the light of the moon shone through most **. "I had heard that on this night the veil between worlds thins, but how is it possible that here and now you can speak to me from within the Seal? It has been many years and many times this night has passed by without a sound..."** A cold wind made its way through the windows, whistling ever so faintly.

"Kuro, look at where I am..." Kaguya commanded.

Kuro did as he was instructed and made his way to the center of the room, into the moonlight where he could look up through the window and view the Full Moon. " **Mother... We are so close to obtaining your freedom."**

Kaguya's voice rose, sterner this time. "No, you have failed me."

Kuro, though still uncertain that any of this was real, felt a pain at these words. All he wanted to do was to make his Mother proud, to rescue her from her imprisonment. To hear her speak such words of disappointment greatly upset him. **"No, Mother, I have not failed you yet! We are so close! Only a few more years, I'm sure of it!"** He countered as he felt the light on his body grow hot.

"Kuro, join me..." Kaguya spoke, voice trailing off.

Now realizing what was happening Kuro tried to move. To his horror he found that he was now trapped in the light of the moon, his body was being pulled upwards like reverse raindrops and flowing along the light towards the moon. **"No! I'm not done yet! I WILL free you, Mother!"** He cried, struggling to no avail **. "This can't be real!"** He decided, trying to bring his hands together in the Hand Seal, Ram.

His arms would not budge but instead the rate at which he was being pulled upward increased. Soon his entire body had been turned to droplets and he watched as the last his himself rose out of Pein's Tower, above Amegakure and high into the sky to join his Mother in her prison.

{**A/N: So... Zetsu was pretty hard to write for and I'm a little upset. I didn't leave myself enough time to figure out how to add blood into it because Zetsu doesn't bleed... I also had a difficult time figuring out what they would be afraid of. I did a bit of research (because I haven't finished watching Shippuden yet) to look into their backstory more and found something sort of useful.

Really hope this was still a decent chapter even though it probably wasn't creepy in any way to you.

Let me know what you think. What did you like and what did you dislike? Did I convoy their fears well enough?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 31, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,498]


	10. Ch9 TobiObito

Obito had planned to place the members of the Akatsuki under a large Genjutsu that he had been working on for months. It had been nearing Halloween and once again Tobi had become obsessed with the holiday.

 ** _"Tobi, I told you, we're too busy!"_** Obito had yelled in the solitude of his personal hideout.

"But Obito! There's candy given away and people dress up as spooooky~ monsters or characters and go around tricking each other if they aren't given candy! Wouldn't it be fun?" Tobi persisted. "And wouldn't it be even more fun to get the rest of the Akatsuki in on it?"

" ** _That's not going to help us achieve Madara's 'Project Tsuki no Me'!"_** Obito shouted as he popped a lollypop into his mouth ** _. "Besides, they're all S-Rank Criminals; none of them would care for something as childish as Halloween."_**

"I don't know about that Obito. A couple of them are still pretty young so maybe they would like to participate at least." Tobi continued though it seemed that Obito was ignoring him now. "I know!" He cheered after a moment of pause. "What if instead of dressing up we play a huge trick on them and at the end of it offer them some candy? It would be really fun, and if it was my persona no one would be able to get too worked up!"

 ** _"Idiot, they all would get severely worked up! You're annoying at the best of times and as I've already said, they're S-Ranked Criminals, all of which have little patience!"_** Obito was not wanting to cause his own death this soon, not when the perfect world was within their reach. **_"Drop the subject."_** He commanded.

This greatly upset Tobi but for a time he did, well, for all of five minutes leave the subject at rest. "Oh hey, I know!~" Obito sighed heavily. "How about this?" He began, attitude overly cheerful, something that Obito was always cautious towards. "If you let us have fun this Halloween, I'll stop asking you about poop for a whooole~ month!" Betting it all on his understanding that bodily function questions greatly disturbed Obito, Tobi waited, breath held.

 ** _"Make it two."_** Obito countered, hardly missing a beat, relieved at the opportunity to finally have some peace from the disturbing topic which Tobi seemed to be obsessed with. Along with that, though he would not openly admit it, he was looking forward to meeting all the new recruits and possibly lining his pockets with some sweets.

"Deal!" Tobi cheered. 'Though I may not be able to ask you about bowel movements for two whole months, you never argued about all the other topics of human bodily functions.~' The swirly white Zetsu clone thought gleefully.

"Ahh!~" Tobi cried as he rolled back and forth, holding his head which throbbed in pain. "That wasn't a fun trick! Tobi wants candy now!" He whined, sitting up and looking around. "Huh, where is everyone? Hellooo?~" He called out, hands cupped around his face like a megaphone. "That's weird... Is the meeting over already?"

Standing up Tobi began to search the room, finding all the doors to be locked, leaving only one to go through or to use the Kamui and just slip through the doors and walls which obstructed him from moving in the direction he so chose. "Hm, I wonder where they all went. I can't even sense their Chakra anymore." He pondered, tapping a finger to the chin of his mask.

" ** _This doesn't make any sense."_** Obito cut in, looking at the surroundings as they walked through the open door ** _. "I know none of them really like us but I doubt Pein and Konan would let us remain unconscious as everyone left. We'd hardly even begun the meeting..."_** He looked out of the window at the rain, watching lightning streak across the sky. He hated weather like this.

"Maybe everyone decided that they needed to dress up for this special occasion? Though, I don't think some of them need to dress up to be scary..." Tobi shivered at the thought of Kisame. "Maybe he could cover himself in blood, have it dripping from his mouth like a shark attack!"

 ** _"This isn't a joke!"_** Obito scolded, running a hand through his hair. **_"We need to find the others."_**

They made their way down the stairs of the Tower, walking through room after room, still not sensing where the others could be located. there had been a scream which echoed off the walls a moment ago and they decided to try and track that but all they had found in the possible location was a shut door. More screaming could be heard inside but they were unable to make the door budge.

"That scream sounds different, more desperate, huh Obito..." Tobi commented, voice trembling ever so slightly. "S-should we maybe help?"

 ** _"The door is locked,"_** Obito said in thought as he pulled the handle. **_"I guess we'll try Kamui."_** Obito decided, activating his Sharingan and moving forward.

Nothing happened besides the two running into the door face first.

"What was that Obito!?" Tobi cried as the Uchiha lifted his mask and grabbed hold of his nose for a moment.

 ** _"I don't know! Kamui isn't working!"_** Obito yelled back as he checked to see if his nose was bleeding. **_"I'll try again, but just the hand this time."_** He said putting his mask back down.

Obito placed his hand against the large metal door and focused on using his Kamui, closing his eyes in the process as he pushed his hand forward. He didn't feel the pressure anymore and instead felt his arm slip through something. Figuring that he had accomplished the task of phasing through the door he opened his eyes back up, ready to celebrate but what he saw before him nearly made him vomit on the spot.

Rin stood, blood pouring from her mouth as she coughed, rain falling heavily down on her and Obito's heads. She held onto Obito's arm, grasping it tightly as her breathing began to fail, a choking gurgle beginning as frothy blood came up. The life from her eyes started to fade as she called Obito's name, a weak smile playing on her face, fading fast. She lost her grip and her knees collapsed, sending her to the ground. Obito instinctively caught the girl before her head collided with the wet ground, holding her tight to himself.

His eyes widened more and he looked around in shock once he was able to pull his attention away from his friends face. They were outside now, in a clearing of the Village's streets, watery blood spilled everywhere along with unrecognizable bodies. A scream ripped through the air, echoing harshly through the tall buildings of the Village. A younger Kakashi stood off to the side covered in blood and wounds, his single good eye shown, wide with fear as lightning tore through the sky followed by a crack of thunder.

"Obito... Obito, what did you do..?" He choked out, voice hoarse and quiet.

 ** _"What, no..."_** Obito started, looking from Kakashi to Rin and back ** _. "How..?"_** He looked down at Rin and then let her body fall to the ground, the sound sickening as she collided into the bloody puddles. He stood up quickly to distance himself from her lifeless form, taking a few staggering steps back ** _. "This is not reality!"_** He yelled, ripping his mask off to stare, eyes wide as rain fell down his now maskless face.

"Obito! How can you say that?!" Kakashi yelled, his voice strained as he took a step forward and pointed at Obito. "Look at yourself! You're covered in her blood!" Obito looked down at himself and his breathing became hard to catch while his stomach lurched upwards threateningly. He gagged for a moment before regaining some control of his bodily actions.

" ** _This was only supposed to be a Genjutsu; a Halloween prank!"_** He panicked, looking at the blood dripping from his hand. **_"I wasn't supposed to be trapped in it too!"_**

Kakashi was in front of Obito now, shaking him back and forth. "Snap out of it! This is real!" Kakashi yelled as he choked on a sob. "You killed Rin, Obito! She's dead!" Obito just continued to stare at his blood-drenched arm.

 ** _"Tobi... Tobi, something went wrong, really wrong!"_** Kakashi snarled at this, punching his comrade across the face, sending him tumbling backward into the bloody puddles.

"You've lost it!" Kakashi said, pulling a Kunai out and gripping it tightly. "Rin is dead because of you! This is all your fault! You should have just listened to me instead of trying to prove you're better than everyone else!" Kakashi fell to his knees in front of Obito, raising the Kunai into the air.

 ** _"Tobi! We need to release this Genjutsu!"_** Obito tried to make the Hand Seal, Ram, to end this trick but Kakashi plunged the Kunai into Obito's heart before he could.

"You idiot, always fooling around. Wake up to reality!" Obito felt a burning pain in his chest where the Kunai was buried, a slow numbing sensation starting to take over as blood poured out of him.

Blood fell from Obito's mouth as he watched Kakashi stare down at him with sorrow and hate. **_"Rin..."_**

"Hello..?~" Tobi called out as he walked in pitch darkness, shuffling his feet in an attempt not to stumble. "Obito~ where'd you go?" He whined as at the lack of the Uchiha's presence. "This isn't fun anymore... Can we stop the Genjutsu or whatever it is that's going on?

 _"Tobi..."_ Came a whisper as cold air rushed past the Swirly Zetsu.

"Ah! Who's there? Reveal yourself," Tobi commanded with a shaking voice. "And also, maybe turn on a light? Please?"

No one responded for a while. The room was in complete silence as well as darkness. Tobi couldn't even hear the storm outside anymore nor feel the thunders vibrations through his feet or his hands that clung to the walls.

 _"Tobi, come, join us."_ The voice, Shiro's voice, called out. The sound echoed off the metal walls in a haunting way.

"Um... Tobi doesn't like this..." He responded, feeling his way around, hands pressed against the wall as he moved. "I want to stop this now." He pleaded once more.

 _"Tobi, you can't stop this."_ Shiro cooed and Tobi felt a shiver run down his spine. _"You're such a good boy Tobi, why don't you come home?"_

"N-no thank you..." Tobi squeaked as he grasped a doorknob his hand had brushed against. "I'll just leave now..." He pulled on the door, twisting and turning the knob in all ways but it did not open. "Please, let Tobi out." He begged, pulling more frantically as he felt breathing on the back of his neck. "Please!"

 _"Tobi~"_ Shiro's voice sang in the other's ear. _"Time to die.~"_

"NO!~" The Swirly Zetsu cried, banging on the door as something wrapped itself around all his limbs. "No, no, no, no, NO!"

There was the sudden feeling of wood and excruciating pain, the feeling of his body sinking into a substance. He was being absorbed into something that he couldn't see. Tobi struggled and cried out, his voice echoing throughout the room as he felt hands grip him and pull, another pair pressing his head down. Finally, he was submerged and the pain, so agonizing, finally stopped. Nothing existed anymore.

{**A/N: Ah, sorry this one is shorter. I changed the order of these last three characters and Zetsu's was really long and I didn't have time to make this as detailed as I wanted. Boo~

Anyway, what did you think? I had blood in this one, though I didn't add a lot of details. (Sorry~) And Tobi's part was shorter because it was pretty much the same thing that happened to Shiro Zetsu.

What did you like, what did you dislike and what do you think would have made it better?

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 31, 2018]-[Wordcount: 1,903]


	11. Ch10 Hidan

"Fuck, what the hell did you assholes do?" Hidan whined as he sat up, holding onto his forehead with his eyes squeezed shut. "Oi, Kakuzu, I asked a fucking question. Are you fucking deaf or something all of a sudden?" Gritting his teeth Hidan slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to try and focus them. "What the fuck?" He looked around the room as it started to come into focus.

Alone. He was alone.

"You bastards seriously left me here on my own? What the fuck!" He screeched, pulling himself up to a standing position and grasping his scythe. "Oi! Fuckers! What the hell are you planning?" There was still no response. This pissed the Jashinist off but at the same time confused him so he stilled his yelling for a moment to analyze the situation. "Lord Jashin, what is this?" He murmured to himself as he scanned the room for any sign of the others, straining his ears, hoping to hear them in one of the other rooms.

Silence. Such complete silence that even the storm outside was not heard. It was as though the Rain Village had somehow rained itself out.

"Ok... Fine. Fuck them." Hidan seethed as he began to walk towards the only open door, his footsteps echoing unnaturally loud in contrast to the otherwise stark silence. "I'll just go fucking find a damn sacrifice for Lord Jashin while I wait for those assholes."

Before reaching the door though, upon noticing the unnatural sounds, or rather lack thereof, the Jashinist stopped and looked up towards the high windows with curiosity. They were open and letting rain in but even though the storm looked like a disaster outside and the lightning was crazy there had been no noise, no thunder. The only indication that such a thing was happening was from the vibrations that came from the floor. He could almost forget that they were in Amegakure; the Village that never stops raining.

Feeling the subtle sway of the Tower Hidan looked around at the piping that ran through the meeting room in all different directions. He could see them sway and shake but they too made no noise. "What the fuck..?" He questioned, scratching the back of his head as he continued to look around, settling at staring straight ahead at the open doorway.

Once more he started calling out, "OI, KAKUZU! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" He yelled as loud as he could while making his way towards the door, pausing to check that this was, in fact, the correct door he should be going through. Noting that all the other doors had been shut he figured that the only open one had to lead to the others. "Fucking Organization and its fucking blasphemous heathens." He growled lowly as he neared the threshold of the door, fists clenched at his sides as he stormed forward. "One of these days they'll all be sacrificed." He decided with a firm nod of his head.

Just as he was about to step through the doorway from which they had all came through, it slammed shut in his face, knocking him backward as flames engulfed the threshold, licking hungrily up the metal door in search of fuel. "The fuck?!" He yelled in shock, staring up at the scene as the metal started to warp within the extreme heat. He sat there for a moment, anger making its way to the surface, face going dark with malice.

If it wasn't for the fact that he had encountered this type of weird shit on a regular basis as a Shinobi, this little stunt would have freaked him out instead of just surprising him. Instead, he just glared at the flames, watching as they danced about. "This is probably that little bitch, Deidara's doing." He sneered at the pathetic excuse of a prank. "I bet Leader is going to kill that kid for messing up his Tower." He snickered at the thought of Deidara getting Almighty Pushed out of the top window of the Tower.

 **"HIDAN!"** A voice boomed throughout the large metal meeting room, echoing loudly in the circular space. The pipes shook even more violently, the sound suddenly coming back and the flames that were eating at the door started to crackle.

Jumping at the sudden sound that filled the unusually quiet space, Hidan sprang to his feet and scanned the corners of the room, searching for the owner of such a powerful voice. Not even Pein, who believed that he is a God, has such a commanding voice "Who-"

 ** _"DO NOT TELL ME YOU DO NOT KNOW!"_** The voice, offended, roared from all directions as the crackling flame started to make a high-pitched hissing sound, a scream coming from the high heat.

"Lord Jashin..?" Hidan more of asked rather than stated. This too did not please the Godly voice.

 **"YOU ARE SO OFTEN DEAF TO MY WORDS, HIDAN**." Bright red, flaming eyes appeared, hovering over top of the room just across from were Hidan had been staring. They were such a colour and had such a heat that the dark and damp looking room turned into a furnace. Red, yellow and orange flickered against the rusting metal, causing the shadows behind the piping to dance wildly.

The eyes narrowed dangerously and the heat from the glare penetrated through the confused Jashinist, his cloak even began to smoke. **"TOO OFTEN DO YOU IGNORE MY WILL!"** The presence continued as the circular meeting room began to warp and shift in appearance, adding more to the Hellish scene it was becoming.

Rusted, bloody chains fell from the roof; hooks dripping blood with chunks of burnt flesh stuck on them. Cables zipped from one side of the Tower room to the next with mangled bodies strung along them. More screaming, gurgling corpses phased their way through the walls, chains and tools of torture sticking from their bodies, their faces twisted in fear and agony as they were pinned in place. Blood dripped down the walls, pouring from the ceiling in sections like red waterfalls, burning upon contact of the floor, steaming and bubblings in pools which made a horrid stench.

Eventually, the metal of the room began to shift, turning areas into stone and others into walls made out of human bone which bled from cracks. Spikes protruded from areas of the floor, some slicing through Hidan's legs causing him to curse and yell in surprise before he moved away, watching carefully for the next ground assault. When it seemed the floor was stable once more he looked around at the change; only a fraction of the room still remained true to its original form. The sights and smells were something akin to that which you would only experience in Hell.

Hidan dropped to his knees on a patch of metal flooring, raising his hands in front of himself and clasping them tightly, pleading, "Lord Jashin, I am your servant!" He began, hoping that his words of loyalty would somehow appease his God. "I would never go against your commands willingly!" By this point his cloak had burnt off his body, leaving pink burn marks across his albino skin.

 **"THAT IS IT, HIDAN! YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWING ANYONE TO HOLD YOU BACK!"** Jashin scolded, fire licking at all the doorways now giving the twisted room a greater frightful radiance as the metal around the fires began to glow a cherry red, slowly melting. **"YOU ALLOW THESE HEATHENS TO CONTROL WHEN, WHERE AND HOW YOU KILL. THIS IS BLASPHEMOUS AT BEST!"** His God spoke.

Hidan began to shake, fearing that he had upset his God past the point of repentance. Normally he would be punished in a more subtle way, such as bad luck following him around until he made amends. He had never had his Lord come to him so vividly before nor had he ever felt pain so real from a dream. This had to be real; somehow he was entering his Gods Dimension. This was the only thing that made sense to the loyal Jashinist.

"Lord Jashin, please, I meant no disrespect!" Hidan begged as the fires around the doors began to spread out across the floor, circling the room and then shooting across the ground in three directions, creating a giant flaming Jashinist Symbol. "How can I make this better?" He yelled over the roar of the fire as it cracked, hissed and screamed. The sounds of the damned filled his ears.

 **"YOU WILL CONTINUE WITH WHAT YOU WERE REBORN TO DO**!" Jashin yelled, causing the flames to shoot up into the air, burning hotter than before. **"AFTER, OF COURSE, I HAVE HAD MY FUN..."**

Confused Hidan looked around, feeling the heat scorch his skin as he tried to understand what was happening, the rest of his clothes now starting to burn away in the heat. "Lord Jashin, I will continue to be your servant, now and forever more! There is no doubt about that, I am one-hundred fucking percent yours! So please, what the fuck's happening around here? Who attacked us and knocked me out?" Hidan held the belief that he was in a dream and his Lord Jashin had come to visit him, pulling him through the veil to step into his own Dimension. 'Why now of all times?' He wondered.

Jashin sneered, though Hidan could only see his inferno eyes narrow. **"WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH ABOUT THESE OTHERS? WHY CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE NONBELIEVERS?"** Jashin inquired.

"Lord Jashin, working with the Akatsuki has given me new opportunities to travel unhindered by ignorant heathens who wish to Seal me away. I help them with their stupid, damn missions and in turn, I can continue spreading Your Word and converting more followers to Jashinism." Hidan explained, squinting in the bright light as he tried to look his God in the eyes. His own burned, dry from the hot light.

The ground he stood on was quickly becoming too hot to touch and he stood from his kneeling position as the now bare flesh on his knees blistered. "You will always come first, no matter what it is I fucking do with anyone else!" The soles of his shoes were now beginning to melt causing the smell of burning rubber to infiltrate his senses, blocking out the stench the rest of the room was making. "I will have the opportunity to cause much slaughter in the coming missions, and on my own time, they allow me to do as I please! I have not killed these bastards because they have served useful!" Hidan continued, now gritting his teeth slightly as the heat reached the soles of his feet.

Thinking this over Jashin couldn't help but chuckle. **"DO YOU WISH TO KNOW WHERE THE MEMBERS OF THIS ORGANIZATION HAVE GONE TO?"** The God asked teasingly. Hidan just nodded as the bottoms of his feet began to blister, the smell of burning flesh starting to overtake the burning rubber once again. **"I HAVE THEM HIDDEN AWAY IN THEIR OWN VERSION OF THIS WORLD, ONLY THOSE VERSIONS AREN'T VERY... PLEASANT. CALL IT THEIR OWN HELL."** The entity chuckled slightly before he continued. **"MY POWER IS GREATER THAN THAT OF ANY OF YOU MORTALS AND SO YOU ALL SHALL FEEL PAIN FOR MY PLEASURE."** He laughed viciously, the fires roaring louder and the heat intensifying.

Still confused the loyal Jashinist asked another question, "What's the purpose of this, if we're all trapped here, but not here?" Hidan grabbed his head in puzzlement, wincing at a sudden sting, his hair sliding off of his scalp at the touch. He took a handful of the gray strands and stared at it for a moment, disgusted and yet unsure how to react. "Ah~ I'm so fucking confused! What are you wanting Lord Jashin, please, tell me!?" He begged as his skin started to melt off; the bold, sick stench of burning flesh and blood bubbling up to replace the faint, lingering smell of burnt rubber.

 **"I WANT TO WATCH YOU ALL** ** _DIE.~_** **"** Jashin cooed to his subordinate in a sinister way.

"But Lord Jashin, haven't I been faithful?!" The Zealot cried, taking a step forward and nearly collapsing at the horrible pain he was starting to feel. "I do my prayers every day! I continue to try and convince the old miserly bastard I'm stuck with about your Divine Powers!" Hidan felt the heat begin to blister the rest of his body as the bones in his feet began to crack, his skin bubbling and the immense pain causing his vision to blur. "If I have displeased you this much, what can I do to make amends?" He tried to ask, voice starting to waver as his throat dried and became a blistering mess. This was a pain unlike any other he had ever experienced. Even decapitation had nothing on this torture.

 **"YOU ARE ALREADY DOING IT, MY FAITHFUL FOLLOWER. YOU ARE MY ACOLYTE BUT AS I AM TRAPPED IN MY DIMENSION, FOR NOW, I WILL USE YOU AND YOUR PAIN TO ENJOY WHAT THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER."** Laughing evilly, Jashin continued. **"I WILL SEE YOU AND** **ALL YOUR PITIFUL AKATSUKI MEMBERS SUFFER AND DIE BY YOUR WORST FEARS. THEN I WILL BE SATISFIED AND YOUR PUNISHMENT FINISHED. SO FOR NOW** ** _, FEEL DEATHS EMBRACE!_** **"**

Hidan screamed in pain as his body caught fire, burning what flesh he had left, eating away at his muscles and tendons, causing him to drop to the floor. His face melted and eyes burst inside the skull as his tongue swelled, choking him. Blood bubbled and dried away as Hidan was eaten down to the brittle bone while his God watched, laughing darkly at the mess before him. **"HAPPY HALLOWS EVE, HIDAN."**

{**A/N: So! Hidan got tossed into Hell for this one! Or, at least a makeshift Hell. Anyways, one way or the other he got seriously tortured! There was a bit more I had been wanting to add but I was already past 2,000 words and didn't want this to be too much longer than the others so I had to stop. Boo...

Was any of this scary? Was it gruesome? Did you like Jashin's personality? Was he too plain for a God of Evil? Was there enough blood?

(I'm always concerned with this, haha. Also, I ask a lot of questions of you guys! **Sorry~**)

I love your feedback!

Until next time, thank you for reading, My Darling Sweetsparks!~**}

[Posted: Oct. 31, 2018]-[Wordcount: 2,297]


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